 Fàn's work deals with the traditional themes of the period, including peasant life, Prunus mume, the seasons, Buddhism, and growing old.Fàn was born in Suzhou into a middle-ranking family at a time of conflict between the Southern Song and Jin dynasties.A precocious child, his early studies of classical literature prepared him for a career in the civil service - a career that was temporarily interrupted when his parents died within a few months of each other in 1143, leaving Fàn solely in charge of the family estate.