Weng Fanggang 翁方綱 (1733 -1818)

Collection of Chen Maigong (1878-1975).

Collection of Chen Ding (1894-1971), and thence by descent.

__________________________________________________________________________

陳枚功收藏 (1878-1975)

陳定收藏 (1894-1971)，此後家族傳承

Weng Fanggang (1733-1818), also known by his artist names Tan Xi and Su Zhai, was a renowned Qing dynasty calligrapher and scholar of stone inscriptions. Initially appointed to the court of the Qianlong Emperor in 1752 as a junior compiler, Weng’s exacting scholarship and profound knowledge of the Chinese classical canon eventually led to his appointment as a member of the Grand Secretariat (neige). 

The present lot contains a selection of letters in characterful xingshu script written by Weng to his close friend and colleague Huang Yi (1744-1802). A remarkable scholar and poet in his own right, Huang Yi, also known as Xiao Song or Qiu An (as Weng calls him here), shared Weng’s passion for epigraphy and spent much of his time uncovering and recording lost stelae across China. Known as the “Five Scholars of Epigraphy” together with Qian Daxin, Wang Chang and Sun Xingyan (who are mentioned frequently in their correspondence), Huang and Weng were bosom friends who remained in constant correspondence over nearly thirty years. Whenever Huang would encounter a new stele, he would almost invariably send a copy to Weng who would, in turn, thank him by composing a postscript or poem about the text in question. Though they only met on a handful of occasions, this exchange of ideas and a shared passion for archaeology and scholarship produced a friendship that pushed each of them to higher social and philosophical levels. 

Culminating in their excavation of the now-famous Wu Family Shrines, the scholarly drive of these two great artists is evident in the present lot. Discussing recent stele discoveries, the work of their colleagues, and avenues for further exploration, Weng writes with the fresh enthusiasm of a close friend yet also with the exacting eye and graceful penmanship of a scholar. For a more in-depth analysis of Huang and Weng’s friendship see Yang Guodong, “Huang Yi yu Weng Fanggang jiaoyou kaolun / On the Friendship between Huang Yi (1744-1802) and Weng Fanggang (1733-1818)” Journal of Gugong Studies, 2013 (10), pp. 458-466.