photo by Jiang Dong

Fifty ancient Chinese painting masterpieces are being brought home after more than half a century overseas.

The exhibits, from the private collection of Qing Dynasty official and scholar Weng Tonghe (1830-1904), belong to his great-great-grandson Weng Wan-go and date back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). With literati paintings and calligraphy works of the Ming and Qing Dynasties dominant, the collection reflects the taste and cultural background of the Weng Family.

Highlights include Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1729) court painter Liang Kai's fine-brush scroll portrait of a Supreme Taoist Master; Ming Dynasty Wen Zhengming's calligraphy letters to his sons; Qing Dynasty Wang Yuanqi's blue-and-green vertical scroll Du Fu poetic landscape, in which luxuriant trees and vegetation growth are emphasized; plus works by great artists like Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, Dong Qichang, Zhu Da and Jin Nong.

Weng Tonghe, who tutored two late Qing emperors, played a pivotal role in the imperial court. The Weng collection was started by his father and has been passed down through the generations. Weng Tonghe was also an accomplished calligrapher in the late Qing period. One of his works, One-Stroke Tiger (pictured right), is on show in the latest exhibition.

Measuring 131 cm in height and 61 cm in width, he created the calligraphy in 1890 for his 60th birthday. Weng Tonghe, who was born in the year of the tiger, preferred to write the character hu (tiger) in huge font for self-aggrandizement after his middle age. In this exhibit, Weng developed with dried ink on water-absorbent paper, presenting the momentum of the character and his own passion.

Weng Wango, now 90, took the collection to the United States in 1948 in an effort to escape the civil war. He has been a filmmaker, poet and historian, producing a documentary called Through Six Generations: The Weng Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, in which he introduced his family collection and Chinese art to English-speaking audiences.

9 am-5 pm, Dec 10-Feb 1, 2009

Beijing World Art Museum, China Millennium Monument, A9 Fuxinglu, Haidian district. 6851-3322

中華世紀壇世界藝術館, 海淀區復興路甲9號

(China Daily December 9, 2008)