Qiu Zhijie graduated from the National Academy of Fine Art in Hangzhou in 1992. His artworks appear in various media and formats, including oil painting, photography, video, and installation art. Qiu moved to Beijing in 1994 and has dedicated much of his time to ink paintings and calligraphy since mid-2000s. Although trained in printmaking at school, Qiu studied traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy since childhood and perceives ink and brush as his innate tool to formulate his thoughts and ideas. His ink paintings are his journals, mind maps, and blueprints for his installation and curatorial works. Qiu infuses contemporary subject matters, new techniques and presentation methods to innovate his ink paintings. He desires to revive the ancient literati tradition, in which men of insight and knowledge observe their universe and express their feeling of society through works of art.