Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Sun Xingge (1897-1996) was born in Chaozhou, Guangdong province. He was a poet, painter, and calligrapher. At the age of 23 he moved to Shanghai where he taught painting and was active in literati circles. Sun settled in Hong Kong after 1949. This calligraphic couplet was probably written and inscribed to Michael in 1968 when Michael was visiting Hong Kong. The inscription reads ‘Put down your thoughts at the river bank when the dragon sings and the tiger roars. For Master Sullivan and his wife to correct and keep as a memento.’ Sun’s calligraphy in his later years was characterised by a bitter-sharpness as seen here, which has been compared to ‘mature ginger’.