Chang Shuhong (1904-1994), born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, graduated from the Dyeing and Weaving School of Zhejiang Provincial A-class Industrial College in 1923, the école Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (Ensba Lyon) in 1932, and the école Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris in 1936.

He was a professor, a member of the college council, and director of the modeling division of the National College of Art in Peking, and a member of the Fine Arts Education Committee under the Ministry of Education of China.

Chang became the deputy director of the Preparatory Committee of National Dunhuang Art Research Institute in September 1942 and the director of the National Dunhuang Art Research Institute in January 1944.

After 1949, he acted in succession as the director and honorary director of the Dunhuang Cultural Relics Research Institute, the honorary president of Dunhuang Academy, a counselor of National Cultural Heritage Administration, the president of Gansu Federation of Literary and Art Circles, a deputy to the 3rd and 5th National People's Congresses, a member of the 6th National Committee of CPPCC, and a member of the 4th China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

As a founder of Dunhuang Academy, Chang devoted his whole life to the protection of Dunhuang Grottoes and research in Dunhuang arts among others. He made copies of 22 Dunhuang grotto murals and hosted or edited large-scale academic books for publication including Anthologies of Dunhuang Grotto Murals Copies, Dunhuang Painted Sculpture, Dunhuang Grotto Murals, Dunhuang Mural Patterns of Tang Dynasty, Dunhuang Treasures, and Dunhuang Apsaras.

His publications include Dunhuang Buddha, Buddhism and Buddhist Arts, From the 'Figure Bigger than Mountain' Painting Style, Origin and Content of Dunhuang Arts, Styles and Development Characteristics of Chinese Ethnic Arts from Dunhuang Arts, Dunhuang Murals of People's Life in Various Dynasties, and Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Arts. Chang made outstanding contributions to Dunhuang cultural relics protection and research and was known as "Dunhuang Guardian".