Early Life and Artistic Training Born in the province of Jiangsu, Ma Yuanyu came into the world in Changshu during the era of the Qing Dynasty. His early years were shaped by the landscape of his birthplace, a setting that would eventually inform the delicate subjects of his brush. He moved through his life under several names, carrying the style name Fuxi, while others knew him by his sobriquets, Xixia and Tianyu shanren. The path o…