Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1983)

From the Family Collection of C.S. Loh (1913-1992), who acquired the work directly from the artist, referred by the artist’s agent Li Zulai and his wife Li Deying

C. S. Loh (1913-1992), originally from Wuxi, Jiangsu, was a successful businessman and an art collector of exceptional taste. His career began in the 1940s when he followed in his father F.C. Loh (1884-1963)’s footsteps to run textile businesses in Shanghai. His father had studied abroad in the UK, and later managed the Mow Sing Flour Mills in China for the entrepreneur Yung Tsoong-King (Rong Zongjing). Similarly, C.S. Loh managed the Sung Sing Cotton Mills for the Yung family and achieved remarkable results. After relocating to Hong Kong in 1947, he founded the Wyler Textiles Limited, which quickly prospered and became an industry leader in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1979, he was appointed to be the chairman of the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners Association. His achievements in the industry earned him accolades such as the Presidential Medal and the Honorary Doctor of Business Administration Degree from Tufts University in 1984 and 1987 respectively.

As an avid art collector, Loh had a particular interest in Chinese paintings and calligraphy. He co-founded the illustrious Min Chiu Society in 1960 with other like-minded collectors in the business communities. It continues to be a very active society of collectors in the present day.

Loh was also an ardent admirer of Peking and Kun opera. He was longtime friends with Zhao Peixin, and received training from operatic luminaries such as Jiang Miaoxiang and Yu Zhenfei. To preserve Yu’s school of thought, Loh sponsored him to print “The Sulu Qupu” (Music Notations of Yu Sulu). Through Yu, Loh met and befriended other opera performers and literati, thus sharing the same social circle with Zhang Daqian, who was also a keen enthusiast of traditional opera.

According to the Loh family, Mrs. Loh and Li Deying, the wife of Li Zulai, both came to Hong Kong from Shanghai in the late 1940s and were great friends. Li Zulai was born to a wealthy family in Ningbo, and his father Li Weizhuang and his siblings Li Zuhan, Li Qiujun, and Li Zutong were all close friends of the artist. Zhang entrusted the Li couple with important matters, including buying and selling paintings, forwarding letters, and handling remittance. In the 1970s, the Lis were appointed by the artist to coordinate his several large-scale exhibitions in Hong Kong.

In 1973, Li Deying mentioned a rare recent work of Zhang Daqian painted on a Japanese gold screen to Mrs Loh. She happily purchased the piece and asked the artist to add a simple inscription that would complement the composition. The screen has since graced the Loh family room with its shimmering beauty for half a century and still looks as new as ever. Despite relocating multiple times, Zhang Daqian kept in touch with the Loh family. He invited them to visit Huanbi’an, and gifted them paintings as tokens of their friendship.

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來源：陸菊森伉儷收藏，經李祖萊夫婦直接購自畫家，由家族遞藏

陸菊森（C.S. Loh 1913-1992），又名菊生、菊笙，號率齋，別署率齋主人，室名陸率齋，江蘇無錫人。上世紀四十年代，隨父陸輔臣（F.C. Loh 1884-1963，一名輔仁）於滬上經營紡織業。其父曾留學英國，返國後為榮宗敬家族管理茂新麵粉廠。陸菊森主理榮氏申新紗廠，成績斐然，影響尤鉅。一九四五年，他與徐舜如、虞洽卿之子虞順慰共同持有上海華山路名園「周家花園」（又名純廬，舊名蕊園，後為華山花園）。一九四七年遷港後，開辦偉倫紗廠，業務發展方興未艾，五、六十年代為業界翹楚。一九七九年被推任為香港棉紡業公會主席，八四和八七年更獲美國塔夫茨大學 (Tufts University) 頒授總統勳章及工商管理榮譽博士學位。一生砥礪前行，成就卓著。

經商之餘，陸氏耽於書畫雅翫，風鑒明遠，廣結墨緣，收藏甚豐。自明至清，以迄近代，無不孜孜汲引。一九六○年，滬港工商界巨頭所創之敏求精舍成立，創會成員名單中，即見陸氏與陳光甫、黃秉章、趙從衍、徐士浩、葉義、王統元、林伯壽、郭正達、朱孔嘉、袁虬初、霍寶材、利榮森、劉漢棟、胡惠春共十五人，正是最早倡設此儔侶雅集者。以藝論交，至今蔚為佳話。

他篤嗜京劇崑曲，公餘之暇，不廢咀嚼吟詠。與京劇老生趙培鑫有舊誼，遂得梨園泰斗姜妙香及俞振飛親自授業數載。為保存俞派家學精粹，曾出資承印俞氏所編之《粟廬曲譜》。他與俞振飛相交甚契，在滬或港，往來密切，故俞氏相熟之梨園友人或藝林文人如程硯秋、沈葦窗等，與陸氏亦有過從。又因李祖萊、李德英夫婦之故，與孟小冬時相聚晤。大千好傳統戲曲，故與上述諸位皆具交情。

據陸氏家人憶述，陸夫人與李祖萊太太李德英同在四十年代末自滬來港，常相過從。李祖萊出身寧波富族，父薇莊、長兄祖韓、三姐秋君、四兄祖桐等，與大千兩代交誼，關係親若家人。畫家與李祖萊伉儷情同手足，不少瑣事雜務委付二人在港代為張羅處理，舉凡書畫買賣、轉達家書、匯款等，極得信任。七十年代，先生在港舉辦數次大型畫展，則全權交由李氏伉儷負責。

一九七三年，李德英向陸夫人提及大千此稀有近作，乃畫家特別在日本訂製金屏風精繪而成。陸夫人喜而購之，是時畫上尚未落款，大千遂應其所求，簡略題之，以配合畫面佈局。入藏後，此屏懸於陸府廳堂，一室煥然生輝，如今已屆半世紀，神采依舊，保存如新。大千移家多處，與陸氏家人仍保持聯繫，曾在環蓽盦設宴款待，並再贈佳作以誌舊誼。

Zhang Daqian: The Master exhibition catalogue, Sotheby's Hong Kong Ltd., Oct 2019, p.56-57

Honouring Tradition and Heritage: Min Chiu Society at Sixty, Min Chiu Society, Hong Kong, 2020, p.128-129

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著錄︰

〈無象之象︰張大千精品展〉展覽圖錄（香港蘇富比有限公司，二○一九年十月），頁56-57

〈聚道傳承─敏求精舍六十周年〉（香港，敏求精舍，二○二○年十二月），頁128-129