Fine Chinese Paintings

Fine Chinese Paintings

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 3043. 戴敦邦 曹雪芹像 | Dai Dunbang, Portrait of Cao Xueqin.

趙岡、陳鍾毅伉儷收藏書畫(編號3036-3048)│ Property From the Collection of Professor Kang and Jessica Chao (Lots 3036-3048)

戴敦邦 曹雪芹像 | Dai Dunbang, Portrait of Cao Xueqin

Auction Closed

April 30, 09:39 AM GMT

Estimate

40,000 - 80,000 HKD

Lot Details

Description

Property From the Collection of Professor Kang and Jessica Chao (Lots 3036-3048)

Dai Dunbang

b.1938

Portrait of Cao Xueqin


ink and colour on paper, framed

dated 1977, with 4 seals of the artist. Poetry hall by Wu Enyu

畫心 Painting: 34.2 x 20 cm 13½ x 7⅞ in.

詩堂 Poetry Hall: 13.2 x 20 cm 5⅛ x 7⅞ in.


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趙岡、陳鍾毅伉儷收藏書畫(編號3036-3048)

戴敦邦 

b.1938

曹雪芹像


設色紙本 鏡框 一九七七年作

吳恩裕題詩堂

詩堂︰畫家戴敦邦所繪英譯本〈紅樓夢〉插圖,中外稱賞。一九七九年秋,趙岡教授來京後,晤教為快,明日趙教授返美,謹以敦邦所繪曹雪芹小像奉贈,以資紀念。九月六日。恩裕。


款識︰雪芹先生小像。

鈐印︰〈戴〉「墨香閣」、「敦邦」、「民間藝人」、「丁巳」。

〈吳〉「恩裕」。

註︰一九七七年底,著名人物畫家戴敦邦受外文出版社委託,為翻譯學家楊憲益、戴乃迭英譯〈紅樓夢〉創作插圖三十六幅,乃首批廣傳中外之紅樓夢圖繪。為使人物、場景細節貼合原著,戴敦邦登門向阿英、啟功、吳恩裕諸位紅學家請益,並嘗與吳恩裕結伴遊西山,探尋芹圃遺蹤,本幅即當時贈吳氏者。

吳恩裕(1909-1979),遼寧沈陽人,政治學及法學學者,著名紅學家,著作等身,曾任文化部〈紅樓夢〉校訂注釋組顧問,對曹雪芹文獻研究貢獻尤大。一九七九年,趙岡自美赴京,為翌年舉辦之首屆國際〈紅樓夢〉研討會邀請中國學者參加,即獲吳氏以此作相贈。


畫心 Painting: 34.2 x 20 cm 13½ x 7⅞ in.

詩堂 Poetry Hall: 13.2 x 20 cm 5⅛ x 7⅞ in.


Property From the Collection of Professor Kang and Jessica Chao (Lots 3036-3048)


The Collection of Professor Kang and Jessica Chao began in 1938 when Zhang Shanzi gifted Lot 3047, Tiger by the River to Kang Chao’s father, Zhao Ximeng (1899-1956). Ximeng was at the forefront of literature, poetry, art and politics from the 1920s to the early 1950s in China. During the Sino-Japanese war, he wrote patriotic articles in the Morning Light News and was a war correspondent for the Ta Kung Pao. In 1944, the famous Chinese artist Zhang Daqian, added the inscription and painted the grasses in the foreground during one of his visits to Ximeng while in Liaoning.


After his father’s death in 1956, Kang Chao inherited the Zhang Shanzi & Zhang Daqian painting, along with the Chao family legacy as a welcome oasis for visiting scholars, artists, writers and change-makers. By the 1980s, Kang Chao was acclaimed for his ground-breaking and bold analysis of China’s economic development, had co-founded the Chinese Institute for Economic Research in Taipei, and was one of the foremost Redologists in the world. He and Jessica were extraordinarily committed partners—in work as well as life. They collaborated on nearly 100 books and publications in both English and Chinese on Economics and the Hong Lou Meng.


As one of the few Chinese faculty members in the American Midwest, Kang and Jessica Chao continued the Chao tradition. They opened their home in Madison, Wisconsin to visiting scholars and artists from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and beyond. These visitors appreciated being in a familiar environment, discussing topics ranging from art and politics to current events. Most of all they delighted in Jessica’s authentic Chinese cooking at a time when America was just beginning to understand true Chinese culture.


June 1980, Kang and Jessica kicked off the first International Conference on the Dream of the Red Chamber by hosting the opening dinner in their Madison home. The world’s leading redologists, Zhou Ruchang, Qi Gong, Dai Dunbong, Yu Pingbo and Feng Qiyong presented magnificent scrolls with personal dedications to our parents. Those who became close friends would use Kang's familiar name, "Yen-bing” (彥濱). The more formal visitors would use "Professor Kang Chao" (趙岡教授). By the time Kang retired from his professorship at the University of Wisconsin in the mid-90's, he and Jessica had a collection of nearly 100 scrolls of calligraphy and paintings. 


In 2017, Kang and Jessica Chao donated their entire collection of rare Hong Lou Meng books and research materials, 40 banker boxes in all, to the Ricci Institute in San Francisco. Their goal was to encourage future generations of young scholars to enjoy the study of the Dream of the Red Chamber. Shortly thereafter, Jessica Chung-yee Chen Chao passed away on November 5, 2020. For Kang Chao, 2021 was a challenging year without his companion of 70 years. On October 23, 2021, he slipped away peacefully to join her.


To honor the legacy of their extraordinary teamwork and to their goal of promoting cross-cultural exchange by sharing the best of East and West cultures, partial proceeds from the sale of this Collection will go towards two projects. The first is to establish scholarships that strengthen cultural bridges between East Asia and the West. The second is to establish a much needed pipeline of Chinese-speaking Caregivers and Home Health Aides to serve our beloved Chinese elders.