The American Society for the Advancement of Chinese Arts (ASACA) was founded in 1979, an important year which saw the opening of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Master Hou Beiren, ASACA's founder and permanent honorary chairman, has been teaching Chinese brush painting in the Bay Area since 1956. Master Hou has the vision of not only teaching his students the skills of the brush and an appreciation of the Chinese artistic values, but more importantly, of creating an environment where cultural and artistic exchanges can evolve and flourish.

In the past three and a half decades, ASACA members have worked tirelessly to create exhibitions and facilitate the interchange of ideas, most notably, the visits to the United States by such Chinese artistic luminaries as Zhu Qizhan, Cao Mingran, Zhao Zonggai, and Xing Shi, among others. Of ASACA's visits to China, most notably in 1982 (three years after the opening on the diplomatic front), 2003 (celebrating the opening of the Hou Beiren Museum of Art in Kunshan, China), in 2008 and 2013 (ASACA group exhibitions at the same museum), and in 2013 (ASACA group exhibition at Liu Haisu Art Museum in Shanghai).

ASACA's members are from diverse backgrounds with different educational and professional experiences, many of whom do not speak nor write Chinese, but are united by the same level of inspiration and devotion to the art of ink and color. With this website, we hope to further promote the understanding and appreciation of Chinese art and the special art form of "splash ink" and "splash color" in the international community.