ZHOU ZUOREN (1885-1967)、YU PINGBO (1900-1990) AND DING CONG (1916-2009)
A Group Of Books and Correspondences
Various size
Eighteen books by Zhou Zuoren, publishing date from 1927 to 1995
Five books by Yu Pingbo, publishing date from 1933 to 1982
Two books by Ding Cong, publishing date in 1996
Twelve correspondences by Zhou Zuoren to Hu Shifang (only envelops)
Eleven correspondences by Yu Pingbo to Hu Shifang (one without envelop), dating from 1979 to 1982
Three postcards by Yu Pingbo to Hu Shifang, dated 1980s
Six correspondences by Ding Cong and his wife Shen Jun to Hu Shifang, dating from 1995 to 2008

Hu Shifang was born in Jinan, Shandong Province. His ancestors were silk traders, who settled in the town during the mid-18th and early 19th century. Their residence, adjacent to Daming lake, was called the Wanshou Palace. In 1949, Hu came to Hong Kong to work as a writer. He published in the Weekly Comment edited by Huang Yuren, Panorama Magazine founded by Shen Weichuang and Dada edited by Wang Jingyi. Hu was mentored by prominent writers including Zhou Zuoren, Yu Pingbo, and Feng Zikai, forming close friendships with these authors. Hu’s collection was built exclusively through gifts received directly from the artist, before being passed on to the next generation of his family. Works by Feng Zikai and Zhou Zuoren from the Hu Shifang collection offered at auction by Christie’s in Autumn 2017 and Spring 2018, were not only extremely well received, it also set a new world auction record for works by Feng Zikai and Zhou Zuoren.