17 Jan Treasuring Authentic Collections for Generations – Interview with Shih Yun-Wen, Convener of Calligraphy and Paintings for Ching Wan Society 30th Anniversary Exhibition
Thirty years can mark a journey of personal growth, or a shared history of collective cohesion. For Ching Wan, three decades bear witness to the transformation of this refined collectors’ society from its founding to maturity, and reflect its enduring passion and commitment to art and culture. Over these years, members’ collections have both retained their constancy and evolved with time. For the Ching Wan Thirty Years of Collecting exhibition, the convener of the painting and calligraphy section, Chairman Shih Yun-Wen, has long dedicated himself to Chinese painting and calligraphy collecting. This marks his third time serving as convener. With over forty years of immersion in the art market, Shih draws on his extensive experience to offer his reflections on the collecting of Chinese painting and calligraphy, even amid the market’s constant fluctuations.
The Ching Wan Society is a collectors’ group, and this exhibition—titled a “Collection Exhibition”—naturally presents works from members’ holdings. Shih is explicit about the two guiding principles for the painting and calligraphy selections: treasured (zhen cang) and true (zhen cang). Each artwork is “treasured” for its unique aesthetic and cultural significance, while “true” highlights the cultural practice embodied in the very act of collecting.
Shih Yun-Wen had previously addressed these ideas in a lecture at the 50th Anniversary of the Huagang Museum in 2021.
Treasures Beyond the Market
It is well known that Ching Wan members are not merely collectors—they have also built solid business legacies within their respective fields. Yet unlike the stereotypical image of the ostentatious tycoon, Ching Wan members project a restrained, cultured demeanor. Their collections are not amassed as mere displays of wealth, but grounded in profound cultural literacy and personal taste, embodying the true ethos of the scholar-merchant. As Ho Yen-Chuan, Director of the Department of Painting and Calligraphy at the National Palace Museum, has observed, the defining quality of Ching Wan members lies not only in their material affluence, but equally in their academic cultivation—a quality vividly and deeply manifested in their collecting practices.
Full article available on Artouch:https://artouch.com/gumeishu/content-166969.html