Night Blooms. [Photo provided to China Daily]

As a best-selling author, Liu visits the mainland often to give lectures, paint natural settings, and attend book-signing events. A dedicated philanthropist, he has funded the construction of 40 primary schools with the Hope charitable project.

He has maintained multiple facets even in the field of painting, where his wide range of genres includes portraits, landscapes, and flowers and birds in a traditional Chinese style.

Liu graduated from the National Taiwan Normal University majoring in art in 1972. He received strict professional training and his works won a number of awards in exhibitions while he was still a student.

He studied with Huang Junbi, a wellknown artist of traditional Chinese ink painting, and gained deep understanding of the traditional style. However, he leaped the traditional barriers and formed his own artistic style.

Liu kept painting after his graduation and has created many outstanding works.