Qingquan 'Brook' Zhao is an internationally acclaimed artist. A popular headliner at international conventions, he has conducted programs in Australia, Canada, France, India, Italy, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Venezuela.

Born and raised in Yangzhou, China's ancient center of learning and the arts situated at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River, Qingquan Zhao grew up in an environment where the penjing tradition was very much alive. At a young age, Zhao became intrigued by the miniature trees and landscapes in his father's and grandfather's collections. He is a third-generation bonsai and penjing artist.

Mr. Zhao is a master of composition. He is particularly famous for his landscape and forest arrangements. In the 1970's, he pioneered a new form of penjing where trees and stones are artistically grouped on white marble slabs or other shallow containers to evoke, in the viewer's eyes, tranquil mountain sceneries and waterscapes. This form, water-and-land penjing, has since become his signature work and has brought him worldwide fame. His work with single trees, too, is outstanding. He particularly enjoys creating trees in the literati style.

Mr. Zhao brings a gentle and highly sensitive approach to his art. During his demonstrations, audiences of all ages become enthralled as they watch him create universal beauty and transform moments in time into timeless serenity by applying time-honored principles of Chinese aesthetics and design. Mr. Zhao's work has earned him enthusiastic praise from bonsai and penjing artists and collectors around the world. His first English language book, Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment. A Journey Exploring an Ancient Chinese Art and Its History, Cultural Background, and Aesthetics, published in 1997, has become a classic.