Master Hiu-Wan, the founder of Huafan University, is a Prajna practitioner who has integrated Buddhism, art, literature, and education, and is known as a master female painter in southern China. Most research on Master Hiu-Wan is focused on her historical status in Buddhism, literature, and education, but not much is on her artistic thoughts, particularly from the perspective of art history. This is what the inspiration of this study has come from. Art never exists in isolation. It is the interaction between the artist's internal thoughts and the events in the external environment and is presented to the world through some carrier. The artistic thoughts of an artist are intertwined by aesthetics, literature, and humanistic thoughts, etc., on the vertical dimension, and the artist’s personality, psychology, learning, experience and friendship, etc., on the horizontal dimension. The result is then expressed using the forms of arts. Researchers may have the chance to appreciate the significance only by exercising careful judgment and interpretation. This is also the research method adopted in this study. Master Hiu-Wan learned painting from Gou Gim Fu, the founder of the Lingnan School of Painting. She was profoundly inspired by the philosophy of her mentor Gou, i.e. to integrate both the oriental and the occidental styles and linking the ancient and the modern thoughts. That was how she practiced the principles of incorporating the skills of western paintings and adaptation to the trend of modernism. It was for the ideals that she had extensive visits to India, mainland China, Europe and America to paint, study, and organize art exhibitions. Poetry and painting are integrated in traditional Chinese art. As a disciple of the Buddha, however, Master Hiu-Wan incorporated the philosophies of Confucianism and Buddhism in Zen paintings, and started the concept of "art for life." She completed the "Modern Parināma Album" to promote Buddhism. She also started the "Ching-liang Art Exhibition" to spread the decent culture among people. She founded Huafan Institute of Technology (now Huafan University) in 1990, as the first of its kind in the Buddhism history of China. Her ideal of teaching in good landscape is realized on the campus of Huafen, where the whole campus is a piece of great artwork to represent the philosophies of "human and heaven harmony” and "Follow the way of nature." Her reputation as "a master female painter in southern China" is well-deserved.
