Yan's family came from Guo Yan in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but there is no record of Yan's characters in the history books of ancient and medieval times. Until the Ming Dynasty, several famous people, such as Gao Yan, Yan Guizhi and Yan, were all famous good officials. Yan lives in Fanyang County (which will be changed to Fanyang County in the Three Kingdoms Period, located in Zhuoxian County, Hebei Province, Changping County and fangshan county) and Taiyuan County (located in Taiyuan in the Qin Dynasty, later changed to Taiyuan County, where Jinyang is located, in the southwest of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province). In modern times, Yan gave birth to many famous artists. For example, Yan Ruyu, who is very proficient in porcelain making, once copied 100 pieces of enamel porcelain for Yuan Shikai, with pure white tires and exquisite paintings, commonly known as hongxian porcelain, which is a once-in-a-century treasure. (Jingdezhen Ceramic History Draft). In the Qing Dynasty, there was a Zhen Zhen whose name was Tenggu. Good bamboo stone. There is also a Yan Qi, a bamboo word teacher, who can write and draw, and especially likes to write ink bamboo. (Qing painting).
There is an old artist named He Jian in modern times. Born in Tianmen City, Hubei Province, he worked in the headquarters of Weicheng District, Beijing, and was cordially received by Party and state leaders such as President Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai for more than ten times. After retiring from work, he turned to the development of painting and calligraphy. He used to be the vice chairman of Tianmen Painters Association and the director of China Painting and Calligraphy Research Association. His deeds, painting and poetic art were highly praised by all walks of life, and he was selected into the Who's Who of China Literature and Art in the World.