Tsirenjap Sampilovich Sampilov was born into a hunter's family in the ulus of Domno-Yeravna, located in the area of the Yeravninsky lakes. He was raised by adoptive parents. In his childhood, he worked as a shepherd. At the age of 12, he learned to read and write from I. I. Serebrennikov, who was then working at the Vershino-Kondinskaya meteorological station. Sampilov also worked as a shepherd and laborer in the Chernovsky coal mines. Since 1914, he lived in Chita, where he worked for contractor Srulevich as a cart driver, for Duletsky, and at the Kulaevskaya mill.

In 1916, he was sent to rear work on the Western Front, where he dug trenches and built bunkers.

After the October Revolution, Sampilov returned to Chita and worked as a laborer at the soap factory of the Transbaikal regional cooperative. In 1918, several of his paintings were acquired by E. Rincheno.

In 1919, he met sculptor I. N. Zhukov and began practicing in his studio. That same year, his sculptures were presented at an exhibition organized by Zhukov and D. D. Burlyuk.

Sampilov was a free listener at the Chita Art and Industrial School. In the 1920s, he worked as an artist for the newspaper 'Buryat-Mongolian Truth.'

In 1925, at the invitation of E. Rincheno, he went to Mongolia, where he met N. Roerich. Roerich influenced Sampilov, advising him to transition from sketches to paintings, and painted his portrait.

In 1926, an exhibition of Sampilov's works took place in Ulaanbaatar, and the National Museum of Mongolia acquired most of his works.

In 1927 and 1930, he studied at the Moscow VKhUTEMAS.

From 1930, Sampilov worked in Ulan-Ude and taught at the Institute of Culture of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR in 1930 and 1935. In 1935, the Central Executive Committee of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR awarded him the title of People's Artist of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR.

From 1942, he was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the 3rd convocation.

Ts. S. Sampilov was one of the founders of Buryat professional visual art and was among the eight artists who created the Union of Artists of the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR in 1933.

It was the art of Ts. S. Sampilov that most accurately and succinctly conveyed the spiritual essence of the nation.

His creativity, imbued with a joyful perception of the world, was characterized by simplicity and truthfulness in the interpretation of images.