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A long time teacher at Heilongjiang Provence Art Academy in China and a member of China Artists Association, Mr. Liu, Zhi was born in 1941 in Shenyang, China, where he spent the entirety of his childhood. Influenced by his grandfather who was good at traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy, which was later called by Liu his enlightenment art education, Mr. Lui began his own creation of art as a teenager.

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At a critical point in his life when he worked hard to apply for the Academy of Fine Art, his father lost his successful hotel business during the political unrest occurring in China and his family was forced to relocate to Harbin, China. He was at the age of 18 and started working as artistic worker at the Harbin City Opera. Despite the nature of the work, what mattered to him is he could still express himself through painting. Liu said "What makes me happy is that this city has a beautiful Songhua River. It was sparkling. Water, sky, ships, and unique and exquisite Russian-influenced buildings on the banks of the river... All of this made me intoxicated." He began to paint and sketch obsessively and tirelessly using the Songhua River as his inspiration. All his spare time was devoted to create paintings off the waterfront of Harbin.

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In 1962, Liu met the famous painter Mr. Zhang, Qinruo, a teacher who was exiled to the Harbin Art Academy due to sliding with political "rightists". Soon he became the apprentice of Zhang. Lui said in his biography that Zhang has helped him to sublimate his oil painting art. Just like the fish in the tank was returned to the river, Liu found his spiritual home in front of the canvas. Mr. Zhang Qinruo once said: “It is very difficult to put people's feeling about artistic creation or art concepts into words. Every artist’s work is his or her best attempt to communicate these feelings.”  

From watercolor to oil painting, from realistic to expressionism, Liu pursued unremittingly the exploration of traditional and modern forms and concepts, and to create artistic steps associated with his temperament and Chinese cultural spirit. 

Despite the serious deformation of his back, waist and legs due to long term painting, Liu said that he never has had regrets because painting is his life and his spiritual home.

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Today, in the turbulent urban life, many people pay extreme attention to self-promotion and chase market efficiency, but Liu, Zhi is still focus on creation. He devoted himself to his paintings with a calm state of mind. His friends often teases him and say that he is a good old man who is not polluted.