PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF WU BALING (LOTS 1616-1628)

SU SHIJIE (1883-1975)
Seven-character Poem in Clerical Script
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink on paper
133 x 33 cm. (52 3/8 x 13 in.)
Inscribed and signed, with one seal of the artist
Dedicated to Baling

SPECIALIST’S NOTES
Wu Baling (1904-1976) was born in Nanhai, Guangdong. The founder of the Yung Sheh Hiking Club, he joined the Overseas Chinese Daily News in 1936 and was promoted to Chief Editor of the Hong Kong News section. During his tenure, he invited artists to inscribe on the covers of his publications, and befriended many Hong Kong artists, including Zhou Qianqiu (1910-2006), Zhou’s teacher Zhao Shao’ang (1905-1998) and others. Wu often joined their meetings and received many works from them.

Su Shijie, born in Sihui, Guangdong province, joined the Tongmenghui founded by Sun Yatsen and promoted the revolution in Hong Kong. During the Republican period, he held important positions in the Guangzhou government. A noted calligrapher and collector of art, he along with Chen Shuren (1883-1948) and Gao Jianfu (1879-1951) and other artists founded the Qingyouhui. After he passed away in 1975, Hong Kong Museum of Art held an exibition of his calligraphy.