He hoped the tree's unyielding spirit would lift up the morale of his people with a firm belief in the final triumph over the invaders.

In a postscript attached to the collection in 2013, Feng Yiyin, his daughter, wrote: "I have vivid recollections of the hardships during our escape. Father would draw or write what he saw then, when he had the time. ... Flipping through this album, I'm overwhelmed with his care for life, his obsession with art and his love for the country."

The same feelings engulf two other painting collections displayed at the Beijing exhibition.

The production of the Saving Lives album, now in the assemblage of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, spans from 1927 to 1973. Created out of Buddhist benevolence, the album expresses a merciful attitude toward all living beings.

Feng's work also reflects his admiration of children. He appreciated their innocence, honesty and other qualities that one would find lacking in the adult world. He had seven children, and he drew the Paintings for Engou album in the early 1940s, which records, with warmth, the childhood of his youngest son, Feng Xinmei, who was nicknamed Engou. The album is now with Feng Xinmei's son, Feng Yu.