Liao Te-cheng was born into a prestigious family in Shengang Township, Taichung County in 1920. In 1926, Liao enrolled at the Anli Public Elementary School. Liao passed a screening exam in 1933 and was admitted to the First Taichung Boys’ High School. Upon graduation in 1938, the young artist pursued further studies in Japan. Yang was admitted to the Oil Painting Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1940 and learned with Minami Kunzou & Yasui Sotaro. He took up a teaching position at the Taipei Normal School upon graduating from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1946. Huang then quit his job in 1948, taking up another teaching position at the Kainan High School of Commerce and Industry and continued working there for 40 years. Liao is a self-composed person who is disinterested in either fame or wealth. Other than teaching, he dedicates most of his time to painting alone and rarely shows up on related social occasions. The only group he actively participated in is the Era Art Association jointly founded by Chang Wan-chuan, Chen De-wang, Hung Rui-lin, Chin Jun-tso, Chang Yi-shiung and the artist himself in 1954. Most of his paintings are about still life, country life and landscape. He is especially fond of the color of green, and is actually skilled in using it. He is able to create the misty greenness of Taiwan with layers of thin paint.

As the artist moved to Tienmu in 1970, Liao started to combine still life with outdoor scenery in his works. Guanyin Mountain, among others, is a common subject in his landscape paintings in the 1980s. He even painted a series entitled “Guanyin Mountain.” In this painting, mountains are verdant and meadows are green. Crooked routes and meandering Tansui River seem to intertwine with one another. Liao uses layers of oil paint to portray lush forests in fine details. In a misty natural setting, the space is designed with rhythmic clarity and exudes refreshing charm. The Guanyin Mountain and the Tanshui River seem to converse with one another in this painting, although they are far away. It seems they are sending greetings and longings for the painter to his father.

The artist was admitted to the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1940. Of the four professors in the Oil Painting Department, Fujishima Takeji, Kobayashi Mango, Minami Kunzou and Tanabe Itaru, he chose to learn with Minami Kunzou. However, when he became a student of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, WWII had already broken out. Liao suspended schooling with agreement from family members in 1944 until the end of war. Liao did not return to Taiwan immediately after the end of WWII. Instead, he went back to school to finish the last year of study. Because Minami Kunzou had resigned by this time, Liao joined another class instructed by Yasui Sotaro and finished his study in 1946. He was the last Taiwanese student to have graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts during the Japanese Rule. Influenced by his father’s sorrowful death, Liao has always remained a low-profile. He never stops painting, however. With time, the subjects of his paintings change from still life to open landscape. He is especially good at expressing the color of green in portraying the four seasons of Taiwan.