Chen Baochen, the late Qing minister and scholar, once served as the teacher of Emperor Xuantong (1906-1967). At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Baochen was committed to develop education in Fujian Province. He organized many schools throughout the province to promote new-style education and support his wife to run a new school for women. He opposed Pu Yi to be the emperor of the Manchukuo, the puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, and advocated that Pu Yi should re-establish the Qing Empire.

This collection was built up by a private Japanese collector during the early 20th Century. Fifteen lots of Chinese classical paintings and calligraphy (Lots 1012-1026) will be offered in the Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy, and four lots of modern works (Lots 1455-1458) will be offered in our Fine Chinese Modern Paintings sale on 27 November 2018.