YAN DELIN (19TH CENTURY)
Plantain, Rock and Flowers
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
147 x 66.6 cm. (57 ⁷⁄₈ x 26 ¹⁄₄ in.)
Inscribed and signed, with one seal of the artist
Dated ninth month, wuchen year of the Tongzi period (1868)

Luo Jialun (1897-1969) wielded significant influence in politics and education in 20th-century China, as well as being an accomplished poet, author, and collector. He became active in politics during his studies at Fudan School in Shanghai. In 1917, while studying foreign literature at Beijing University, Luo Jialun advocated iterary reforms as an editor of the student periodical The Renaissance. These efforts culminated in his role as a student leader in the May 4th Movement. He spent several years abroad and studied in the United States, London, Berlin, and Paris. After Luo returned to China he joined the Nationalist government and was appointed deputy head of instruction at the Central Party Institute in Nanjing in 1927. He served as president of the Tsinghua University between 1928 and 1930. In 1932, he was appointed president of National Central University in Nanjing, serving until 1941. During this time he led the University to safety in Chongqing in the midst of the Sino-Japanese war. Luo Jialun served as the Republic of China’s ambassador to India from 1947-1949, before he returned to Taiwan and assumed additional education-related official duties. Luo’s collection of Chinese paintings has sold remarkably well in recent auctions.