Artist: Li Shutong (1880-1942)

Date: Modern, dated 1918

Dimensions: Height 23.2 cm, Width 41.5 cm

Material: Ink on paper

Gift of Xia Hongning

• Object Type：
  • CALLIGRAPHY
• Location：
  • The Painting and Calligraphy of Shanghai Gallery
• Tag：
  • bold and diligent regular script li shutong modern 1918 ink paper

Li Shutong (1880-1942), with zi (designated name) Xishuang, had an ancestral home in Pinghu in Zhejiang province, but he was born in Tianjin. In 1898, after the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform, he sought refuge in Shanghai and later studied abroad in Japan. Li was a man of profound artistic talent, particularly noted for his calligraphy. This piece, marked by its firm strokes and solemn style, was created in the winter of 1918 for Xia Mianzun. In the autumn of that year, Li became a Buddhist monk in Hangzhou, taking the name Yanyin and the monastic name Hongyi. He is widely revered as "Master Hongyi".

【Special Exhibition】 An Everlasting Spring: The Art of Painting and Calligraphy in Shanghai