CHEN HONGSHOU (1768-1822)
Four-character Calligraphic Couplet in Seal Script
A pair of scrolls, mounted and framed, ink on paper
Each scroll measures 82 x 20.5 cm. (32 ¹⁄₄ x 8 ¹⁄₈ in.)
Inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dated fourteenth day of the sixth month, yihai year (1815)
Dedicated to Yingjia
Two collector's seal of Sun Zhongying (1883-1953)

NOTE:
Sun Zhongying, a native of Zhongshan, Guangdong province, was a learned scholar and a renowned poet. He owned a rich collection of paintings focusing on masters in the Guangdong area. Sun held positions in various civil departments in Guangdong and was appointed Head of the Guangdong Tax Bureau.

Dr. Chang Shiu Sig (1919-2012) graduated from National Sun Yat-sen University in 1945 and was a renowned dermatologist in Hong Kong. He devoted his spare time to poetry writing and indulging in the art of calligraphy and painting. He also befriended literati, poets, and artists, including Lingnan masters such as Zhao Shao’ang, Yang Shanshen and the leading academic Rao Zongyi. Dr. Chang’s wife, Ms. Tung Shui Wah (1928-2020), was one of Pu Ru’s four female disciples in Hong Kong. She was given the name Wenjia by her teacher. As a descendant of the Eight Banners stationed in Guangdong and Guangxi, she had a particularly close relationship with Pu Ru. Whenever Pu Ru and his wife visited Hong Kong in the autumn, they would visit Chang’s residence and enjoy the delicious crabs.

This collection consists of paintings and calligraphy works presented to Dr. Chang by famous Hong Kong and Guangdong artists; works from the Qing dynasties and 20th-century famous artists collected by the couple, and a calligraphy by Pu Ru.