Hu Shifang was born in Jinan, Shandong Province. His ancestors were silk traders, who settled in the town during the mid-18th and early 19th century. Their residence, adjacent to Daming lake, was called the Wanshou Palace. In 1949, Hu came to Hong Kong to work as a writer. He published in the Weekly Comment edited by Huang Yuren, Panorama Magazine founded by Shen Weichuang and Dada edited by Wang Jingyi. Hu was mentored by prominent writers including Zhou Zuoren, Yu Pingbo, and Feng Zikai, forming close friendships with these authors. Hu’s collection was built exclusively through gifts received directly from the artist, before being passed on to the next generation of his family. Works by Feng Zikai and Zhou Zuoren from the Hu Shifang collection offered at auction by Christie’s in Autumn 2017 and Spring 2018, were not only extremely well-received, but also have set a new world auction record for works by Feng Zikai and Zhou Zuoren.