Jao Tsung-I (Rao Zongyi, 1917–2018)
Lotus， 1986
Ink on Silk

This elegant lotus painting represents a remarkable meeting of two of the most influential Chinese intellectuals of the twentieth century: the renowned scholar, artist, and calligrapher Jao Tsung-I and the distinguished historian of Chinese thought, Lin Yusheng. More than a work of art, it serves as a document of friendship, scholarly exchange, and cultural continuity between two major figures of modern Chinese intellectual life.

The painting bears the inscription:

"In the winter month of the Bingyin year (1986), painting the ‘Autumn Colors of Thirty-Six Lakes’ for my elder brother Yusheng's instruction. Xuantang."

The seals read “Painting of Vegetables Fragrant and Fruits Verdant” (Shuxiang Guolü Zhi Hua) and “Bozi.” The phrase “Thirty-Six Lakes in Autumn” (Sanshiliu Pi Qiuse) derives from the poetry of Jiang Kui (1155–1221) and has long occupied a special place in the Chinese literati imagination. Evoking autumn waters, fading lotus blossoms, and poetic reflection, it became a favored theme among scholar-painters from the Song dynasty onward. Through this inscription, Jao transformed a seemingly simple lotus painting into a work enriched by literary memory and cultural resonance.

Adding further significance to the work is an additional inscription by the recipient, Lin Yusheng (1934–2022), who wrote:

"Gu'an (i.e. Jao) is traveling and has no seal at hand. Borrowing this seal and using rouge in place of a name seal. Recorded by Lin Yusheng in the eleventh month of the Bingyin year."

The presence of inscriptions by both Jao Tsung-I and Lin Yusheng elevates the painting beyond a conventional gift painting. It preserves a rare record of personal friendship and intellectual exchange between two scholars whose contributions profoundly shaped the study of Chinese civilization during the twentieth century.

The composition itself is exceptionally refined. A few lotus leaves emerge from the narrow silk format through broad, abbreviated washes of ink, while the flower and stems are rendered with remarkable economy of means. The artist achieves an extraordinary balance between movement and restraint, solidity and emptiness. Every brushstroke appears spontaneous, yet each is precisely controlled. The result is a painting of great elegance and concentration, in which visual simplicity conceals profound artistic cultivation.

Particularly noteworthy is the work's affinity with the artistic language of Bada Shanren (1626–1705). The asymmetrical composition, dramatic use of empty space, abbreviated forms, and quiet psychological intensity all recall the great master of the early Qing dynasty. Yet Jao's painting is not an imitation of Bada Shanren. Rather, it reflects a lifetime of engagement with classical painting traditions, transformed through the sensibility of a modern scholar-artist. The solitary lotus embodies qualities long cherished within the literati tradition: integrity, detachment, purity, and intellectual independence.

Jao Tsung-I occupies a unique position in modern Chinese cultural history. Widely regarded as one of the last great masters of traditional Chinese scholarship, his research ranged across an extraordinary number of fields, including oracle bone inscriptions, Dunhuang studies, ancient history, literature, religion, musicology, art history, and comparative civilization. His scholarly achievements earned international recognition and appointments at major institutions throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. During periods of teaching, research, and lecturing in the United States, Jao continued to paint and write calligraphy, viewing artistic practice as a natural extension of scholarship itself. For him, painting was not separate from learning, but another means through which the classical Chinese intellectual tradition could be sustained and renewed.

The recipient of this painting, Lin Yusheng (1934–2022), was among the most influential Chinese intellectual historians of the modern era. Born in Fengtian, Manchukuo (present-day Shenyang), he moved to Beijing at the age of seven and later settled in Taiwan at fourteen. He received his B.A. in History from National Taiwan University in 1958 before emigrating to the United States in 1960. After earning a doctorate in Social Thought from the University of Chicago in 1970 and undertaking postdoctoral research at Harvard University, he joined the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught until his retirement in 2004. Lin's scholarship on Chinese intellectual history, the May Fourth Movement, Confucianism, and the relationship between tradition and modernity profoundly influenced generations of scholars in both East Asia and the West.

Combining the artistic spirit of Bada Shanren, the literary resonance of Jiang Kui, and the intellectual presence of both Jao Tsung-I and Lin Yusheng, the present work stands as an exceptional example of modern literati painting. It is simultaneously a work of art, a literary statement, and a rare historical document preserving the friendship between two giants of twentieth-century Chinese scholarship. Few paintings so successfully unite personal exchange, cultural memory, artistic accomplishment, and scholarly significance within a single object.

{42 x 10 inches (106.68 x 25.4 cm)}.

饶宗颐（1917–2018）
《荷花图》， 1986年

绢本水墨

此幅《荷花图》不仅是一件优秀的文人画作品，更是一件记录二十世纪华人学术史的重要文化遗存。作品为国学大师饶宗颐赠予著名思想史家林毓生之作，创作于丙寅年（1986）冬月，时值饶宗颐旅美讲学与学术活动期间。画上不仅保留饶氏亲笔题识，更有林毓生亲笔题记，两位当代华人学术巨擘共同留下墨迹，使作品兼具艺术价值、文献价值与学术史意义。

饶宗颐题曰：

“丙寅冬月，写三十六陂秋色，为毓生吾兄大教，选堂。”

钤印“蔬香果绿之画”“伯子”。

“三十六陂秋色”典出南宋词人姜夔（1155–1221）诗词意境，自宋元以来便是文人画家反复吟咏的重要题材。其意境往往与秋水、残荷、远思及人生感怀相关，充满诗意与历史感。饶宗颐借此题写荷花，不仅描绘自然景物，更将诗词传统融入绘画创作之中，使画面兼具文学意味与文化深度。

画面左侧另有林毓生题记：

“固盦客中无印，借此印，并以胭脂作名印。丙寅十一月，林毓生记。”

两位学者同时在作品上留下题识，使本作超越一般应酬赠画的范畴，成为记录两位学术大师交往与友谊的珍贵历史见证。

从绘画角度而言，本作构图极为精炼。狭长的绢本画面上，仅见数片残荷与一枝花梗。荷叶以大面积水墨挥写而成，墨色淋漓而富于层次；花梗则瘦劲挺拔，以极简练的线条支撑起整个画面的精神气质。画面大量留白，形成空灵静穆的氛围，展现出中国文人画以少胜多、以虚写实的传统审美。

尤其值得注意的是，本作与清初巨匠八大山人（1626–1705）的艺术精神具有明显关联。无论是孤傲空灵的构图、大面积留白的运用、极度概括的造型语言，还是物象所流露出的冷逸气息，都令人联想到八大山人晚年花鸟画的艺术世界。然而饶宗颐并非简单摹古，而是在深厚学养基础上吸收传统精华，将八大山人的艺术精神转化为属于自己的现代文人画语言。画中的荷花仿佛遗世独立，于简淡之中流露出高洁、超然与独立的人格象征。

饶宗颐被誉为“最后一位国学大师”，在现代中国学术史上具有极为特殊的地位。他的研究横跨甲骨学、敦煌学、简帛学、楚辞学、宗教学、历史学、文学、音乐学、艺术史及比较文明研究等众多领域，成就卓著，享誉国际。与许多以绘画见长的艺术家不同，饶宗颐的绘画始终建立在深厚学术研究基础之上。对于他而言，书画不仅是艺术创作，更是中国传统学术精神的延续与体现。因此其作品往往兼具金石气、书卷气与文人气，具有一般职业画家难以达到的文化厚度。

上款人林毓生（1934–2022）则是二十世纪后半叶最具影响力的华人思想史家之一。林氏生于满洲国奉天（今辽宁沈阳），七岁迁居北京，十四岁赴台湾定居。1958年毕业于台湾大学历史系，1960年赴美留学。1970年获芝加哥大学社会思想委员会博士学位，其后于哈佛大学从事博士后研究，同年受聘于威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校任教，直至2004年退休。林毓生长期致力于中国思想史、五四运动、儒家传统以及中国现代性问题研究，其关于“中国意识的危机”“创造性转化”等论述深刻影响海内外学界，被公认为二十世纪最重要的华人思想史家之一。

因此，本作不仅是一幅荷花图，更是一件凝聚两位当代学术大师精神交流的历史文献。画中既有八大山人以来的文人画传统，又有饶宗颐深厚的国学修养；既有诗词意境与笔墨精神，又保存着林毓生亲笔题记所记录的交游史实。无论从艺术史、学术史还是现代文人文化史角度而言，均具有特殊而重要的价值。

{42 × 10英寸（106.68 × 25.4厘米）}

For condition report, please contact the Asian Art Department.