Exhibition Period: 1 October 2016 – 1 January 2017
Venue: Gallery I, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

The prevalence of couplet calligraphy in the Qing dynasty is too striking a phenomenon in the history of calligraphy to ignore. Whether as a unique calligraphic genre or as tasteful objects to be given away in literati circles, couplets were of great significance both aesthetically and socially. A great number of specimens have survived and are now in the collections of public museums and private collectors, among which the Lechangzai Xuan Collection is certainly one of the most important in terms of quantity and quality.

Mr Harold Wong, the master of the Lechangzai Xuan, grew up in a family where ink art was zealously practised and collected and emerged as a leading collector of Qing couplets. The partnership between the Wong family and the Art Museum goes back a long way. As early as 1972, only a year after the founding of the then Art Gallery (now the Art Museum), Mr Harold Wong's father, Mr Wong Pao-hsie, contributed a loan of 82 couplets to an exhibition and its associated catalogue. In the ensuing decades, Mr Harold Wong expanded his collection considerably and offered public access to a total of 300 works through two well-received exhibitions and their associated catalogues entitled "Double Beauty" at the Art Museum in 2003 and 2007. This year, to the delight of many art lovers, another fine selection of 150 couplets by 134 masters, of which 71 are on display, are presented to further showcase the splendour of Qing couplets as well as the taste and acumen of a seasoned collector.

In line with previous practices for the series, the exhibition is presented by the Art Museum and co-curated with the Department of Fine Arts, the faculty and students of which have compiled the exhibition catalogue, which is graced by invited scholarly contributions. This mode of collaboration demonstrates not only the close relationships between the Art Museum, collectors, the Department and scholars around the world but also the special role that the institution has been playing as a university museum. Providing valuable specimens for appreciation by members of the public and for research by the scholarly community, this exhibition of Chinese calligraphy certainly ranks among the most important of recent years.

Exhibition highlights are listed below.

	Five-character Couplet in Running Script Zha Shibiao (1615–1698) Ink on gold-flecked waxed paper 125 × 28.2 cm each
	Seven-character Couplet in Running Script Emperor Qianlong (1711–1799) Ink on paper 156.1 × 34.2 cm each
	Five-character Couplet in Seal Script Deng Shiru (1743–1805) Ink on paper 87.3 × 18.8 cm each
	Seven-character Couplet in Clerical Script Yi Bingshou (1754–1815) Dated 1815 Ink on paper 240 × 31.5 cm each
	Eleven-character Couplet in Clerical Script Wu Xizai (1799–1870) Dated 1851 Ink on gold-flecked paper 239.7 × 29.1 cm each
	Eight-character Couplet in Regular Script Zeng Guofan (1811–1872) Ink on gold-flecked paper 120.2 × 43.7 cm each
	Seven-character Couplet in Seal Script Wu Dacheng (1835–1902) Ink on paper 334.5 × 62.5 cm each