In 1993, Zhou Chunya, recently returned from Germany, saw a German shepherd dog at the house of his old friend, Cen Xuegong (famous Chinese ink painter and founder of the Three Gorges School). Zhou was drawn in by this dog's strong sense of form, with its black and gold fur that glowed in the sunlight. Cen introduced him to the dog's owner, where Zhou picked up a puppy, which he named Heigen. This encounter solidified Zhou's relationship with dogs, and set him on the path to dizzying artistic heights.

Heigen is a German name, a nod to the artist's days studying abroad. Zhou studied art at Kassel. There is another reason for the name: there was a famous bar in Chengdu in those days, near the Minshan Hotel, called Heigen Tavern. Zhou would often go there for a drink with his friends. It was a familiar and close setting. Before meeting Heigen, Zhou Chunya didn't really like dogs. But afterwards, Zhou fell in love with all dogs. In his eyes, dogs are the most faithful and lovable animals in the world.

Zhou Chunya would often evoke the vivaciousness of this dog, and his doting love for it, with a few scant brushstrokes. His black paintings of Heigen were a continuation of his 1990s explorations of the stone and flower themes, and were more like a living diary of a painter. The chapped, rugged strokes of the brush tip are interspersed with smooth strokes, creating a sense of vitality and evoking the artist's relaxed and happy demeanor. Heigen was very smart. At the time, I was driving an old Beijing Jeep, and the engine was really loud. Heigen could pick out the sound of my car from several blocks away, and he would bark in excited anticipation. After all these years, when he thinks of Heigen, Zhou Chunya can't conceal his fondness for his old companion. Though they were only together for about six years, Heigen has become an eternal symbol of Zhou's artistic progression.