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Of Reverence and Excellence: The Story of the Poon Family Collection
Told in this unique generational collection of art is the powerful story of the continuum of classical Chinese thought and tradition spanning a thousand years of history.
T he Poon family collection carries the imprints of not just one but many fascinating personalities and histories of the same family, stretching from the beginning of the 18th century up to the present day. At the heart of the Poon family collection – pioneered by Pan Youwei (1743-1821), followed by the Tingfanlou Collection of Pan Zhengwei and the Canton Collection of his descendent Ronald Poon – are treasures curated over two centuries of scholarly interest and refined connoisseurship. The story of how the collections came into existence and evolved in response to the vicissitudes of social changes in China within one single family, over nine generations, is remarkable to historians in its own right.
“I am addicted to calligraphies and paintings. I have been compelled to acquire all the renowned artists’ works I have ever chanced upon in the past thirty years.”
- Pan Zhengwei
The story of the Tingfanlou Collection officially began when Pan Zhengwei (also known as Poankeequa III, 1791-1850) built a pavilion in the family compound to house his exceptional collection of calligraphy, paintings and seals. A discerning connoisseur and renaissance man who excelled in literature and calligraphy, Pan Zhengwei was also editor of the Hanlin Academy, an elite group of scholars attached to the imperial court. He named his beloved pavilion Tingfanlou (‘the mansion for listening to the sails’). The collection contained an impressive array of artworks, including some of the rarest calligraphies and paintings in Chinese art history, and was named by the Chinese art historian Zhuang Shen as one of the top five art collections in Guangdong in the late Qing dynasty.
Chief among the treasures in the Tingfanlou Collection was the Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion after Wang Xizhi by the Song Emperors Renzong and Gaozong, an incredibly rare extant scroll of imperial calligraphy. Universally appreciated as a brilliant piece of prose and an unparalleled example of running script, calligraphers through the ages have studied and emulated Wang Xizhi’s Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion. Emperor Renzong, the fourth and longest-reigning emperor of the Song dynasty, is remembered by history as a benevolent leader whose “conduct as an emperor was beyond reproach.” When not preoccupied by the myriad affairs of the state, Emperor Renzong devoted himself to the brush and ink. Written descriptions of his calligraphic work are incredibly rare, let alone surviving examples. Four generations later, Emperor Gaozong, the tenth emperor of the Song dynasty and the first of the Southern Song, composed his own version of the famed Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion. The scroll contains inscriptions spanning the Southern Song to the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty, and before the Daoguang era was in fact mounted together with an ancient rubbing of the Dingwu-version Orchid Pavilion Preface. For more than 170 years the scroll was privately held by the Poon family, from Pan Zhengwei’s Tingfanlou Collection to Ronald Poon’s Canton Collection.
Another noteworthy masterpiece that passed through the Tingfanlou Collection was Shitao’s (1642- after 1718) Most Spectacular Peaks, now in the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum. It is widely considered to be the finest surviving work of the legendary Qing dynasty artist.
Rather unusually for the time, Zhengwei authored and published a series of detailed catalogues of the best calligraphies, paintings, and other artworks in his collection. Of these volumes, Tingfanlou shuhua ji [A record of paintings and calligraphy at Tingfanlou], Gu tong yin hui [The collection of ancient bronze seals], and Tingfanlou ji tie [The Tingfanlou collection of calligraphies] survive and are still in print to this day. Importantly for historians, Zhengwei included a price list, which provided insights into elite tastes within the Canton region, as well as the complex networks of social identity formed by marriage, mentorship, patronage and friendship. His collection thus came to represent an important counterweight to the “parochialism of a literati-biased canon that favoured the cultural centres of Beijing and Jiangnan (the Lower Yangtze region),” in the words of the art historian Yeewan Koon.
“The story of the Poon family and the origins of the Tingfanlou Collection is not one of wealthy, isolated individuals who indulged in esoteric interests, but rather of a family whose innate curiosity in the world within and beyond China fostered a culture of scholarly excellence and reframed the Canton region as a centre of cultural importance.”
The origin story of the Tingfanlou Collection espouses the classical values of filial honour and reverence for the past, amidst the wider historical backdrop of Chinese trade and societal development. Pan Zhengwei was the third Guangzhou-based generation of a Fujian merchant family that settled in Panyu. His grandfather, Pan Zhencheng (1714-1788), also known as Poankeequa I, laid the foundation of this influential Canton merchant house. Born in Fujian, he worked with his father in the trading business in Manila, where he converted to Christianity and became a fluent Spanish speaker. He returned to China in the mid-18th century and settled in Guangzhou, at the time the only port open to foreign trade in the whole of China. There he traded silk, tea and porcelain with countries such as Denmark, France and England.
“The Pans are among the most famous of all the Hong merchant families in the Canton era. They were the only family business to survive for more than one hundred years... The Pans were so central to the trade that it is difficult to imagine a history without them.”
- Paul A. Van Dyke
Zhencheng became a prominent figure in Canton, especially in diplomatic relations with European powers. He initiated the re-establishment of and chaired the Co-Hong, a powerful regulatory body that officially engaged in trade management, collected duties and oversaw the conduct of foreign traders and crews. The body also assumed quasi-diplomatic duties, signing contracts on behalf of the Qing government and mediating on its behalf with Western powers. By the 1760s, with the opening of his own company, Tongwen Hang, and the retreat of some of his major competitors, Zhencheng reportedly controlled 12 out of 76 shares into which the trade was divided. By the 1770s-80s Zhencheng was one of the top players in Chinese maritime trade, dominating the silk trade and business with the Spanish in particular. He was well respected by the Europeans as a trustworthy businessman who expertly navigated the Qing court’s export restrictions and the surging demands of European markets, whilst formulating solutions to key issues of the day such as the unpredictable supply of raw materials and long-distance sea voyage casualties.
Zhencheng’s fourth son Pan Youdu (Poankeequa II, 1755-1820) inherited Tongwen Hang after his passing in 1788. Initially reticent about assuming the limelight, he emerged as an influential player in maritime trade in his own right, serving two tenures as the chief merchant of the Co-Hong. Such was his success that when he decided to retire and close Tongwen Hang after almost half a century in business, the Qing government urged him to return to the trade. Somewhat reluctantly, just seven years after retiring in 1814, Youdu resumed business under the new banner of Tongfu Hang.
Youdu also continued laying the foundations of his family’s future. Many of his brothers had benefited from his father’s support in the civil examinations, going on to serve the Qing court in various capacities, and Youdu founded a private school within the Panyu family compound to oversee the education of the family’s younger members. His son, the aforementioned Pan Zhengwei, inherited the family business after Youdu’s passing and became a successful and respected merchant in his own right.
The story of the Poon family and the origins of the Tingfanlou Collection is not one of wealthy, isolated individuals who indulged in esoteric interests, but rather of a family whose innate curiosity in the world within and beyond China fostered a culture of scholarly excellence and reframed the Canton region as a centre of cultural importance. For example, Youdu’s elder brother Youwei (1743-1821) was one of the editors of the Siku Quanshu (“The Complete Library of the Four Treasuries”), a Chinese encyclopedia commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor which forms the largest collection of books in imperial Chinese history, and his retirement residence in the Panyu compound housed a rich collection of calligraphies, paintings and antiquities. Zhengwei’s cousin, Pan Shicheng (1804-1873), who had also experienced enormous financial success through trade, built an enviable collection of paintings and calligraphy that he named Haishan Xianguan (‘The Seamount House of Divinity’).
This hard-won familial culture of resilience and adaptability was able to withstand the headwinds of ill-fortune. By the mid-19th century, as relations between the Qing court and Western powers deteriorated, foreign trade suffered. Zhengwei provided financial support for the Qing’s defensive campaign against the British during the First Opium War, but their defeat resulted in the forced opening of additional ports in China. The Canton merchants lost their exclusive access to international trade, and the heyday of Tongfu Hang and the Poon family business was over. Further turmoil towards the end of the Qing dynasty displaced many members of the clan.
Yet the family continued to flourish from the wisdom and foundations laid by their forefathers. The following generations produced numerous writers, painters and high officials serving the imperial court. For example, Zhengwei’s fourth son, Pan Shizheng (1831-1894), also a scholar of the elite Hanlin Academy, reputedly excelled in painting prunus and writing in the calligraphic style of Ouyang Xun (557-641). Shizheng’s third son, Pan Baoheng (1862-1927), served the Qing government in its last days and led the Consultative and Finance Bureaux at the turn of the century. A successful businessman and politician whose investment and involvement in the leadership of the Canton Electric Power were instrumental in developing the region’s infrastructure, he was also a noted philanthropist who founded the Guangdong Public Medical School (now the Sun Yat-sen University Zhongshan School of Medicine) and the Henan Renji Hospital. Fascinated by the elegance of ancient works of art, Baoheng expanded the family’s inherited art collection by acquiring some of the finest examples of dazzling blue and purple glazed Jun ceramics.
Even as members of the family migrated to Hong Kong in the early 20th century, their sense of public duty and love of their cultural heritage did not waver. Poon Yan Hoi (1912-1973), Baoheng’s second son, studied law at The University of Oxford, became the first Chinese judge in Hong Kong and served as Chief Justice of the Central Magistrate’s Office. A philatelist and a collector of snuff bottles, he managed to safeguard many heirlooms amidst the turbulent years of the Japanese occupation in Hong Kong.
“The principle of collecting should be one of transitional ownership and not permanent ownership… As long as there are other collectors to continue the possession of the pieces, the preservation of antiquity will be accomplished.”
- Ronald Poon
Yan Hoi’s second son, Ronald Poon (1942-2022), enjoyed a distinguished career in architecture and public service. In his youth, he planned to become an artist as he was passionate about the arts. Yet under a mentor’s inspiration, he eventually became an architect as he believed that through architecture he could do more to positively contribute to the needs of society. Ronald served (among other roles) as President of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, Founding President of the World Association of Chinese Architects, First Chairman of the Architects Regional Council Asia, Chairman of the Hong Kong Housing Society and 4-term Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Although many of the Tingfanlou’s treasures had been dispersed over the centuries, Ronald set about assembling a revitalised collection of Chinese art with his inherited heirlooms, which he named the Canton Collection (or Xiaotingfanlou, “Little Tingfanlou”, in Chinese) in honour of his great-great-grandfather. Ronald embarked upon his collecting journey under the guidance of Wong Pao-hsie, master of Lezaixuan (1907-1979) and his son Harold Wong, an artist and master of Lechangzaixuan (1943-2022). He surrounded himself with like-minded friends, including the architect Chung Hua Nan (1931-2018), calligrapher Lin Yue-hang (b. 1935), and renowned artists such as Zhu Qizhan (1892-1996), Cheng Shifa (1921-2007), Huang Yongyu (1924-2023) and Huang Zhou (1925-1997). Ronald never sacrificed depth for breadth, building an outstanding collection which ranged from museum-worthy calligraphies and modern Chinese paintings to ceramics and furniture. From 1991 to 1993, he chaired the prestigious Min Chiu Society, the elite Hong Kong collectors’ association, cultivating the understanding and appreciation of Chinese art in his family’s new homeland.
“From Pan Zhengcheng to Ronald Poon, being a collector reflected their reverence for the past, it was an overflow of their pursuit of splendour and beauty. This intense curiosity to explore. This fascination with the wonders of life. This spiritual thirst to seek deeper truths. This is the story of the Poon family.”
Over nine generations, the Poon family achieved something more than a collection; they created a legacy of excellence that would leave its mark on the Chinese art world as much as 18th- and 19th-century international maritime trade. From Pan Zhengcheng to Ronald Poon, being a collector reflected their reverence for the past, it was an overflow of their pursuit of splendour and beauty. This intense curiosity to explore. This fascination with the wonders of life. This spiritual thirst to seek deeper truths. This is the story of the Poon family.
