Wang Kaiyun, a scholar and writer of the late Qing Dynasty, was invited by Yuan Shikai (1859-1916), then president of the Republic of China, to be the curator of the National History Museum. He devoted his life in education. Qi Baishi (1864-1957) used to be his one of his students.

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.