Kawabata Yasunari (Japanese, 1899–1972), Two Calligraphies: “Loyalty and Righteousness,” 1969
Ink on two decorated Japanese shikishi boards, inscribed and signed.
The first board is inscribed with the character “Loyalty” and dedicated to “Mr. Qing Kun.”
The second board is inscribed with the character “Righteousness” and signed: “Autumn of the jiyou year, Yasunari, written at Sun Hung Heung Restaurant,” corresponding to 1969.
{Image size: 10 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches}.
These two calligraphies bear the characters “Loyalty” and “Righteousness,” together forming a traditional expression of moral integrity, personal fidelity, and adherence to principle. They are attributed to Kawabata Yasunari, the celebrated Japanese novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968.
The inscription dates the works to the autumn of 1969 and records that they were written at Sun Hung Heung Restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The first board is personally dedicated to Qing Kun, who was then serving as the restaurant’s head chef.
In September 1969, Kawabata traveled to the United States as a Japanese cultural emissary and participated in events marking the centennial of Japanese immigration in San Francisco. During this visit, he delivered a special lecture titled The Beauty of Japanese Literature. Together with The Existence and Discovery of Beauty, delivered in Hawaii, and his Nobel lecture, Japan, the Beautiful and Myself, this address formed part of Kawabata’s sustained articulation of the traditional beauty of Japanese literature and his distinctive aesthetic philosophy.
The date and location inscribed on these works correspond closely with Kawabata’s documented presence in San Francisco. It therefore appears possible that he visited or dined at Sun Hung Heung during this trip and presented the calligraphies to Qing Kun. The decorated shikishi boards may have been provided locally for the occasion. Their informal and personal circumstances may also account for the absence of an artist’s seal.
Sun Hung Heung Restaurant, located at 744 Washington Street in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, was a longstanding Chinese restaurant operated by the Lum family. Its Chinese name may be translated as “New Apricot Fragrance,” while it was also known in English as Chinatown Restaurant.
Qing Kun, born Hing Kwun and later known as Kwun Chow, entered the United States as a “paper son.” By 1964, he was working as head chef at Sun Hung Heung. His association with these calligraphies, together with a dated work dedicated to him by the Chinese revolutionary Lin Jinghun in this auction, suggests that he was not only a respected chef but also a participant in the artistic and cultural networks that gathered around Chinatown’s restaurants.
Restaurants in historic Chinatown were more than commercial establishments. They also served as meeting places where immigrants, writers, artists, political figures, and international visitors encountered one another. These calligraphies preserve the memory of such an encounter between a major Japanese literary figure and a Chinese immigrant working at the center of San Francisco’s Chinatown community.
The two characters are written with concentrated, forceful brushwork. Although the presentation is simple, their meanings are particularly appropriate to Kawabata’s continuing engagement with Japanese tradition and moral consciousness. Their personal dedication and precisely recorded place and date distinguish them from ordinary examples of literary calligraphy.
Created only one year after Kawabata received the Nobel Prize, the works are important documents of his 1969 visit to San Francisco. They also provide rare material evidence of the international cultural exchanges that occurred within Chinatown during the late 1960s.
Literature:
Zhang Enhui, Biography of Yasunari Kawabata, Jilin Publishing Group and Time Literature and Art Press, 2012, pp. 133–134.
川端康成（日本，1899–1972）书法“忠义”二帧，1969年
水墨日本装饰色纸，两帧，题字并署名。
第一帧书“忠”字，上款“庆昆君”。
第二帧书“义”字，题：“己酉年秋，康成，新杏香酒楼书。”己酉年即1969年。
这两帧书法分别书写“忠”与“义”，合为“忠义”。这一传统用语代表忠诚、道义、人格操守以及对原则的坚守。作品署名“康成”，应为1968年诺贝尔文学奖获得者、日本著名作家川端康成所书。
题款将作品明确纪年为1969年秋，并记载其书写地点为旧金山唐人街的新杏香酒楼。第一帧又以“庆昆君”为上款人，表明作品是专门为当时在新杏香酒楼担任主厨的庆昆先生题赠。
1969年9月，川端康成以日本文化使节身份赴美，参加在旧金山举行的日本移民百年纪念活动。访问期间，他在旧金山发表题为《日本文学之美》的特别讲演。该讲演与其在夏威夷等地发表的《美的存在与发现》，以及领取诺贝尔文学奖时发表的《我在美丽的日本》，共同构成了川端康成对日本文学传统之美及其独特美学思想的系统阐述。
本作题写的时间与地点，与川端康成1969年9月访问旧金山的历史背景高度吻合。因此，他很可能在此次访问期间到访或在新杏香酒楼用餐，并为庆昆先生写下这两帧书法。两张带有装饰纹样的日本色纸或为现场提供。作品带有即席题赠的私人性质，这也可能解释了其未钤艺术家印章的原因。
新杏香酒楼位于旧金山华盛顿街744号，地处唐人街中心，由林氏家族经营，是当地历史悠久的中餐馆之一。其英文名称亦作Chinatown Restaurant。
庆昆先生（1929–2009）原名Hing Kwun，后来去掉“Hing”，以Kwun Chow之名为人所知。他以“纸儿子”身份进入美国，至1964年已经在新杏香酒楼担任主厨。
除川端康成所书“忠义”外，目前还发现一件中国同盟会会员、黄花岗起义参与者林警魂于1964年题赠庆昆先生的书法, 也出现在本场拍卖。两组作品相互印证，表明庆昆先生不仅是一位受到尊重的唐人街厨师，也可能参与了以当地餐馆为中心形成的艺术和文化交往网络。
在旧金山唐人街历史中，餐馆不仅是商业和饮食场所，也是移民、作家、艺术家、政治人物与国际访客相互交流的重要公共空间。这两帧书法所保存的，正是一位日本重要文学家与一位身处旧金山唐人街核心社群的中国移民之间的珍贵相遇。
“忠”“义”二字运笔集中而有力。作品形式虽然简洁，其含义却与川端康成对日本传统、人格精神与文化美学的持续思考产生了深刻呼应。明确的上款、地点和纪年，也使其有别于普通的文学家书法。
本作创作于川端康成获得诺贝尔文学奖后的次年，是记录其1969年旧金山之行的重要实物，同时也是20世纪60年代末旧金山唐人街国际文化交流的珍贵历史见证。
参考文献：
张恩辉著，《川端康成传》，吉林出版集团、时代文艺出版社，2012年，第133–134页。
Overall surface dust and creases in each corner from handling, along right side of "Righteousness" paper areas of discoloration, stains and streaks. For condition report and additional photos, please contact the Asian Art Department.
