Chen Dancheng was born in Jimo, Shandong Province. In his early years he was strongly influenced by Qi Baishi (1864–1957). In 1949 he moved to Taiwan, where he made a name for himself as a renowned seal carver and painter of flowers and birds. His paintings are mostly executed with a large brush in an expressive, spontaneous ink style with vivid colours. This painting of two wild geese in the reeds and a wild goose flying in is reminiscent of Bian Shoumin (active ca. 1721–1751), a professional painter of the Qing Dynasty, who was famous for this kind of composition with wild geese and reeds. Chen Dancheng adds colour to the beaks and feet of the geese and completes Bian Shoumin's composition with a brightly coloured tiger lily in the foreground which is regarded in China as a symbol of freedom from worry and a free attitude to life. The painting is a typical example of the more decorative style dominating in modern Taiwanese painting.