San Xiong Hong was first introduced to the world of antiques and cultural relics by yang Cai Chen, the late founder of Humble House, the prestigious antiques dealer, but he only seriously began his own journey into collecting after discovering a Ming Dynasty bronze furnace in San Francisco. Backed by a great amount of research, Hong amassed a collection channeled into six main areas: wenwan, Chinese sculpture, lacquerware, bamboo carving, thangka, and Himalayan Buddhist art.

In 1999 Hong established Hung’s Arts Foundation to contribute to the research and promotion of art and cultural relics. Hong’s daughter Shao-fan joined the foundation as its executive director in 2005, serving as a link to the younger generation and spearheading the publication of a yearbook, 30 Ancient Bars, which features scholarly work on 30 different relics each year.