The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 16, 2026

Calligraphy Couplet

after 1911
calligrapher

Liang Qichao

(Chinese, 1873–1929)
China, Republican period (1912-49)
Pair of hanging scrolls; ink on paper
Each: 128 x 30 cm (50 3/8 x 11 13/16 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2023.162
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Liang Qichao aimed to reform the country and strengthen its foundations through the revival of the ancient culture of China.

Description

The prominent politician and modern reformer Liang Qichao writes here in an angular, firm, and little modulated regular script style, inspired by inscriptions incised on ancient stone steles. Those script styles were popular among reformers of the time, as they sought to revive the ancient culture and built a new China on the country’s strong ancient foundations. Each scroll cites the verse of a historic cultural figure in Chinese history.
  • mid-1960s or early 1970s–?
    Bought during a Beijing posting by a British diplomat, London, England
    ?–2023
    (Hanshan Tang, London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Calligraphy Couplet|url=false|author=Liang Qichao|year=after 1911|access-date=16 March 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.162