Qi Baishi
In 1946, Chen went to Beijing to become an apprentice of artist Qi Baishi to learn the art of freehand flower-and-bird paintings. During the apprenticeship, he changed his name to Chen Ao as a tribute to his instructor. Two years later, he lectured at the Shanghai Academy of Art until he left in 1950 to become a Professor of Art at the Nanjing Institute of Art. He also began a long side career as a flower-and-bird painter, calligrapher and a seal carver, but he's best known for his numerous paintings of a rooster.