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Lot Essay
Prosperity in the East: Luo Zhenyu’s Sojourn and Art Trade in Japan
Never studied abroad, scholar Luo Zhenyu (1866-1940) was open to learn about Japan. In 1898, he established the Agricultural Society and the Japanese Literature Society of Nanyang College in Shanghai, and hired Fujita Toyohachi (1869-1929) to come to China for translating foreign agricultural books. Later, Fujita introduced Luo to Naito Konan (1866-1934) and Tomioka Kenzo (1873-1918) of Kyoto University, amongst others. This paved the way for Luo’s voyage to Japan.
In November 1901, Luo Zhenyu went to Japan for the first time and stayed for two months. He visited the local education and financial departments, as well as several sinologists, calligraphers, painters and industrialists, and compiled Two Months in Japan. He went there again in May 1909 for more than a month to examine the local agriculture and ranches, while spending his spare time with the sinologists and at the bookstores. Through these two trips, he observed that Japan had a profound Chinese cultural inclusion, and their upper class were passionate about Chinese classical paintings, calligraphy and antiques.
With the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution, Luo Zhenyu was invited by Otani Kozui (1876-1948) and Fujita Toyohachi to move to Japan with Wang Guowei (1877-1927) and his family. Prior to the departure, Fujita and Naito helped him mail a total of 132 pieces of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing paintings and calligraphy from his collection to Japan for exhibition and sale. According to the statistics, buyers included Yamamoto Teijiro (1870- 1937), Ueno Riichi (1848-1919), Takashima Kikujiro (1875-1969), Kurokawa Koichi (1871-1938), Sumitomo Shunsui (1865-1926), Tomioka Kenzo (1873- 1918) and Harada Shozaemon (1858-1938) of Hakubundo. This period saw the first time that Luo’s collection of paintings and calligraphy were sold in large quantities to Japanese collectors.
Luo Zhenyu lived in Japan for eight years until 1919. During his sojourn, he had frequent exchanges with the Japanese political and business scholars, renowned calligraphers and painters. Together with Naito Konan and Nagao Uzan (1864-1942), Luo also assisted Hakubundo with the authentication and inscription of calligraphy and painting, which in turn developed the collecting of Ming and Qing works in the Kansai region. Furthermore, Luo devoted himself to academic research and published many important literature. In order to make a living in Japan, he asked Wang Guowei, who had already returned to China, to contact Shen Zengzhi, Lu Shufan, Deng Shi and the antique dealer Cheng Bingquan in Shanghai to source and purchase paintings and calligraphy and send them to Japan for sale.
Amongst the works previously from the collection of Luo Zhengyu offered in this sale, many of them have Luo’s colophons and titleslips which demonstrate his dedication towards Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Indeed, Luo was the most prestigious authentication authority in Japan of the time.
Never studied abroad, scholar Luo Zhenyu (1866-1940) was open to learn about Japan. In 1898, he established the Agricultural Society and the Japanese Literature Society of Nanyang College in Shanghai, and hired Fujita Toyohachi (1869-1929) to come to China for translating foreign agricultural books. Later, Fujita introduced Luo to Naito Konan (1866-1934) and Tomioka Kenzo (1873-1918) of Kyoto University, amongst others. This paved the way for Luo’s voyage to Japan.
In November 1901, Luo Zhenyu went to Japan for the first time and stayed for two months. He visited the local education and financial departments, as well as several sinologists, calligraphers, painters and industrialists, and compiled Two Months in Japan. He went there again in May 1909 for more than a month to examine the local agriculture and ranches, while spending his spare time with the sinologists and at the bookstores. Through these two trips, he observed that Japan had a profound Chinese cultural inclusion, and their upper class were passionate about Chinese classical paintings, calligraphy and antiques.
With the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution, Luo Zhenyu was invited by Otani Kozui (1876-1948) and Fujita Toyohachi to move to Japan with Wang Guowei (1877-1927) and his family. Prior to the departure, Fujita and Naito helped him mail a total of 132 pieces of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing paintings and calligraphy from his collection to Japan for exhibition and sale. According to the statistics, buyers included Yamamoto Teijiro (1870- 1937), Ueno Riichi (1848-1919), Takashima Kikujiro (1875-1969), Kurokawa Koichi (1871-1938), Sumitomo Shunsui (1865-1926), Tomioka Kenzo (1873- 1918) and Harada Shozaemon (1858-1938) of Hakubundo. This period saw the first time that Luo’s collection of paintings and calligraphy were sold in large quantities to Japanese collectors.
Luo Zhenyu lived in Japan for eight years until 1919. During his sojourn, he had frequent exchanges with the Japanese political and business scholars, renowned calligraphers and painters. Together with Naito Konan and Nagao Uzan (1864-1942), Luo also assisted Hakubundo with the authentication and inscription of calligraphy and painting, which in turn developed the collecting of Ming and Qing works in the Kansai region. Furthermore, Luo devoted himself to academic research and published many important literature. In order to make a living in Japan, he asked Wang Guowei, who had already returned to China, to contact Shen Zengzhi, Lu Shufan, Deng Shi and the antique dealer Cheng Bingquan in Shanghai to source and purchase paintings and calligraphy and send them to Japan for sale.
Amongst the works previously from the collection of Luo Zhengyu offered in this sale, many of them have Luo’s colophons and titleslips which demonstrate his dedication towards Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Indeed, Luo was the most prestigious authentication authority in Japan of the time.