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Lot Essay
Calligraphic Handscroll by Shen Yinmo from the Ying Hua Lou Collection
Mr. Zhou Yingnan (1929–2014), Master of Ying Hua Lou, was born in Xianyou, Fujian. A well known Chinese entrepreneur in Southeast Asia, he founded Singapore’s Tung Lok Food & Beverage Group and Ocean Textile Co., Ltd., and served as chairman of Wuhan New Minzhong Leyuan. Beyond business, he was a prolific Chinese-language writer, literary theorist, and collector. As Permanent Honorary President of the Singapore Writers’ Association, he was celebrated as the “Finest Pen of Nanyang.” A passionate patron of Chinese art, Zhou befriended many leading artists from the 1970s, including Liu Haisu, and built a rich collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy.
This work is accompanied by a distinguished provenance and records a remarkable episode in twentieth-century Chinese calligraphic circles. During the War of Resistance, Jiang Baoyi became acquainted with Shen Yinmo through his service to Yu Youren. An admirer of Shen’s small-script calligraphy, Jiang requested a work in the name of his sister, Shujin, and Shen readily agreed, personally delivering the piece to his home the following day. Jiang treasured it throughout his life and took it with him when he relocated to Indonesia in 1949. He later presented the work to Zhou Yingnan, recounting the story behind its acquisition.
Recognizing its significance, Zhou transformed the original horizontal calligraphy into a handscroll and invited leading twentieth-century calligraphers and scholars, including Zhang Boju, Huang Juntan, Qi Gong, Xie Zhiliu, Tang Yun, and Yang Renkai, to contribute colophons. He also obtained a commemorative essay by Chu Baoquan, Shen Yinmo’s wife. The materials were later published, allowing the story and legacy of the work to reach a wider audience.
The present lot comprises two sections: the Calligraphy Scroll and the Colophon Scroll. The former preserves Shen Yinmo’s original calligraphy together with several early colophons, while the latter was assembled over time as Zhou Yingnan gathered additional colophons, frontispieces, and titleslips from a distinguished group of artists and scholars. These tributes and appraisals enrich the work’s cultural significance while reflecting the high esteem in which Shen Yinmo’s art and character were held. Together, the two scrolls stand as a testament to cultural memory, scholarly friendship, and the transmission of artistic tradition.
Mr. Zhou Yingnan (1929–2014), Master of Ying Hua Lou, was born in Xianyou, Fujian. A well known Chinese entrepreneur in Southeast Asia, he founded Singapore’s Tung Lok Food & Beverage Group and Ocean Textile Co., Ltd., and served as chairman of Wuhan New Minzhong Leyuan. Beyond business, he was a prolific Chinese-language writer, literary theorist, and collector. As Permanent Honorary President of the Singapore Writers’ Association, he was celebrated as the “Finest Pen of Nanyang.” A passionate patron of Chinese art, Zhou befriended many leading artists from the 1970s, including Liu Haisu, and built a rich collection of Chinese paintings and calligraphy.
This work is accompanied by a distinguished provenance and records a remarkable episode in twentieth-century Chinese calligraphic circles. During the War of Resistance, Jiang Baoyi became acquainted with Shen Yinmo through his service to Yu Youren. An admirer of Shen’s small-script calligraphy, Jiang requested a work in the name of his sister, Shujin, and Shen readily agreed, personally delivering the piece to his home the following day. Jiang treasured it throughout his life and took it with him when he relocated to Indonesia in 1949. He later presented the work to Zhou Yingnan, recounting the story behind its acquisition.
Recognizing its significance, Zhou transformed the original horizontal calligraphy into a handscroll and invited leading twentieth-century calligraphers and scholars, including Zhang Boju, Huang Juntan, Qi Gong, Xie Zhiliu, Tang Yun, and Yang Renkai, to contribute colophons. He also obtained a commemorative essay by Chu Baoquan, Shen Yinmo’s wife. The materials were later published, allowing the story and legacy of the work to reach a wider audience.
The present lot comprises two sections: the Calligraphy Scroll and the Colophon Scroll. The former preserves Shen Yinmo’s original calligraphy together with several early colophons, while the latter was assembled over time as Zhou Yingnan gathered additional colophons, frontispieces, and titleslips from a distinguished group of artists and scholars. These tributes and appraisals enrich the work’s cultural significance while reflecting the high esteem in which Shen Yinmo’s art and character were held. Together, the two scrolls stand as a testament to cultural memory, scholarly friendship, and the transmission of artistic tradition.