Born in 1917 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. He was poor when young, hard-working and self-study. He joined the Chinese Fine Arts Association in 1935.  

In 1937, when working as a student, “Chinese Landscape” was selected by the Ministry of  Education’s second national art exhibition.  

In 1939, he was admitted to the Department of Art of Central University. After graduating in 1944, xu was hired as an assistant researcher at China Fine Art College (Chongqing).  

In 1946, he went on to work with Xu Beihong, and served as a lecturer at the National Beiping College of Art, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a director of the Watercolor Teaching and Research Office, and a member of the Chinese Artists Association.  

Zong Qixiang is good at portrait, landscapes, flowers and birds painting, especially night scene. He was one of the representative figures of the reformists of Chinese painting in the 20th century and was one of the first painters to succeed in transforming the landscape paintings of the country with Western painting, and he made outstanding contributions to the teaching of landscape and watercolor in New China. 

 1917年出生于江苏南京。幼家贫，勤奋自学。 

1935年加入中华美术会。 

1937年当徒工时，《山水》即入选教育部第二次全国美术展。 

1939年考入中央大学艺术系。 

1944年毕业，即被徐悲鸿聘为中国美术学院（重庆）助理研究员。 

1946年随徐悲鸿北上，历任国立北平艺术专科学校讲师、中央美术学院教授、水彩教研室主任、中国美术家协会会员。 

宗其香擅人物、山水、花鸟画，尤长夜景。他是20世纪中国画改革派的代表人物之一，是最早用西方绘画改造收纳该国山水画而获得成功的画家， 他在新中国山水教学、水彩教学等方面做出了突出的贡献。