Dr. Feng Xiao and His Collections
Feng Xiao is an associate professor of Asian languages and literatures and the coordinator of the Chinese program at Pomona College. His research interests include Chinese linguistics, bibliography, and seal identification. In recent years, he has been actively involved in authenticating some important Chinese ancient manuscripts and books such as a Dunhuang (敦煌) manuscript, a Buddhist sutra of the Northern Song Chongning Canon (北宋崇寧藏), and several rare books from the Jiayetang (嘉業堂) Collection.The following module displays some of his calligraphy and seal collections.
A hanging lacquer wall panel with the signature of Shiru (鄧石如). Late Qing dynasty. The two characters at the center “Luan Xi (鸞禧)” are in the seal script, which symbolizes marital harmony.
A fan-shaped leaf with a hand-written Sushi’s (蘇軾) prose “Qimujuantie (榿木卷帖).” The calligraphy was done in 1945 by He Shixi (何時希, 名維傑) for his older brother He Weilian (何維廉). The prose is often used to express the satisfaction of a reclusive life.
A calligraphy scroll by Fred Fangyu Wang (王方宇) in 1996. This calligraphy is a line from a poem by Badashanren (八大山人), which means a thousand mountains in one painting (千山一畫裏), suggesting an inclination to go with the flow.
A stone seal made by Ding Zhu (丁柱) in 1847. The carved poetic lines “Wanmucuifengxi, cangsong duxiu (萬木摧風兮蒼松獨秀)” are in the seal script, which mean when a strong wind comes, tens of thousands of trees can be destroyed but only the pine tree can show its perseverance, implying the uniqueness of a true man (like a pine tree).