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The Passion of a Poet: Introducing the Yee-Ming Kuo Collection
Out of the public eye for decades, explore the extraordinary collection of Yee-Ming Kuo – connoisseur, diplomat, poet.
M ore than a collector and connoisseur, Yee-Ming Kuo was a renowned diplomat and an accomplished poet; his poems are published as Selected Poems from Sojourns in the East (Liudong shicun) with his copy now held in the University of Michigan Library. Often turning to poetry to express his emotions, Kuo possessed a deep appreciation for all arts and culture, over the years building a remarkable collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphies of outstanding provenance that reflected his standing among the upper echelons of society in Japan and Taiwan.
Born in 1883 in Changchun, Jilin province, China, Kuo studied at Tokyo’s Imperial University, where he made the acquaintance of many officials of his generation, including Japanese Prime Minister Eisaku Satō. In 1932, Kuo became the Consul General of China in Yokohama, and he served as Consul General in Taipei from 1934 until war broke out in 1937. During his time in Taiwan, he often interacted with the elite, including Lin Hsiung-cheng of the Banqiao Lin family, and Lin Hsien-tang and Chang Hsiu-che from the Wufeng Lin family. Kuo’s love for poetry was also seen shared through exchanges with high political figures of his time such as former president of the Control Yuan Chang Wei-han, vice president of the Examination Yuan Luo Jialun, Minister of Foreign Affairs George Kung-chao Yeh, and Legislative Yuan member Peng Chunshi.
After the war, Kuo returned to Japan, serving as deputy chief of the Overseas Chinese Office of the Delegation. He retired from diplomatic service after the Chinese Civil War and settled in Japan, where he stayed until he moved to the United States to be with family in the 1970s, passing away not long thereafter.
The collection he amassed over his lifetime spans an impressive breadth of styles and schools of Chinese painting and calligraphy including handscrolls in running script by notable Ming calligraphers such as Li Mengyang, Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, and Dong Qichang; and Qing dynasty paintings and calligraphies by preeminent figures such as Qian Chenqun, Luo Pin, Fei Danxu and Gai Qi – many of which have been out of the public eye for decades.
Discover a curated selection of highlights from Yee-ming Kuo’s remarkable collection below, which will be offered this autumn at Sotheby’s Hong Kong Fine Classical Chinese Paintings on 9 October 2022.
