Photo provided to China Daily

It wasn't until he received a publication notice from a national literary magazine that he knew his wife had secretly contributed his poem to publication.

"That led me onto the way of literature," Yan recalls.

As Yan gained fame, he was even recommended to Chairman Mao Zedong by Zang Kejia, a famous poet.

Since then, he has published more than 40 poems, and some of them have been translated into foreign languages including English.

Yan began to paint in his early 40s, which, he says, was a natural step.

"I felt that I had some feelings that were more proper to express with water ink, though I had no particular thing in mind to paint about."

Over the years, Yan has explored mediums from ink to oil. His paintings have been exhibited both at home and abroad, and are collected internationally.

Yan's paintings blend traditional Chinese culture with contemporary culture, and combine colors and lines to create poetic images. He often depicts an imagined world and draws inspiration from traditional Chinese culture.