Zhou Lingzhao, a famous Chinese artist and art teacher who contributed to the design of China’s National Emblem, passed away at the age of 104 in Beijing on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

Born in May 1919 in Central China’s Hunan province, Zhou enrolled at the Hunan Changsha Huazhong Academy of Fine Arts when he was 13 years old. In 1963, he took this photo with his wife Chen Ruoju in Lijiang, South China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Photo: Courtesy of Yueyang Artists Association

Zhou created this painting in 2008 to remember the scene of painting China’s late chairman Mao Zedong’s portrait in Tiananmen Square with his wife in Beijing for the founding ceremony of China in 1949. Photo: Courtesy of Xinhua

An oil painting depicts the May Fourth Movement created by Zhou in 1951. Photo: Courtesy of Handan Communist Youth League

Zhou participated in designing posters for national events since 1949. He worked with artist Zhou Chengzhao to create the poster to celebrate China’s National Day in 1954. He also designed the poster for the Second Sports Meeting of China in 1965. Photo: Courtesy of China Industrial Design Association

In 1959, Zhou created the mural to represent the unity of people. Photo: Courtesy of Xinhua

Zhou created the piece in 1981 to depict a woman weaving a net. Photo: Courtesy of China Industrial Design Association

Year of the Dog stamps Zhou designed in 1982 and 2018. Photo: Courtesy of China Industrial Design Association

Zhou creates a mural of the Yellow Crane Tower with his students in 1984. The piece measures 9 meters in height. Photo: VCG, Xinhua

Zhou painted the fields of his hometown in Pingjiang county in 1983. Photo: Courtesy of China Industrial Design Association

Zhou created the piece in 1988 to show ships returning to port in East China’s Fujian province. Photo: Courtesy of China Philately

The Chengyang Wind and Rain Bridge was painted by Zhou in 1989. Photo: Courtesy of China Philately

Zhou and his wife create a mural in 2002. Photo: Courtesy of Yueyang Artists Association

Zhou signs a copy of one of his paintings of a government emblem, which he helped design, during an interview in June 2019. He turned 100 that year. Photo: Courtesy of Cultural and Historical Museum of the CPPCC