Shanghai - Among the painting and calligraphy collection of the Shanghai Museum, particularly precious are the works from Liangtuxuan ("Studio of Double Bewilderment"), the studio of Mr. Ching Banlee (1899-1965), a Filipino entrepreneur of Chinese descent and a great admirer of Chinese culture. The fact that countless cultural relics of China were scattered overseas stirred up deep emotions within Mr. Ching, who devoted his entire life to acquiring hundreds of precious paintings and calligraphy works and kept them in his studio. With a noble character and a huge passion for his ancestral homeland, he never considered these treasures to be his private possessions. After his passing, his son Mr. Alfredo Ching and daughter Ms. Rita Ching Tan, with the full support of their family, honored their father's wishes by selecting 233 masterpieces from the Liangtuxuan collection and generously gave them as a gift to the Shanghai Museum in 2000.

The painting and calligraphy collection from Liangtuxuan boasts diverse genres and subjects, comprising works spanning over 800 years – from the Song dynasty, through the Ming and Qing, and to the modern period – and covering a wide range of artists and schools in the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy. The collection in especially notable for its extremely rare Song dynasty landscape, Ming and Qing figure paintings, and late Ming calligraphy, showcasing Mr. Ching's exceptional connoisseurship and distinct taste for art.

The painting and calligraphy collection from Liangtuxuan boasts diverse genres and subjects, comprising works spanning over 800 years – from the Song dynasty, through the Ming and Qing, and to the modern period – and covering a wide range of artists and schools in the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy. The collection in especially notable for its extremely rare Song dynasty landscape, Ming and Qing figure paintings, and late Ming calligraphy, showcasing Mr. Ching's exceptional connoisseurship and distinct taste for art.

2025-08-20 - 2026-04-19

Highlights

Unknown, Solitary Temple on a Mountain in Autumn, handscroll, Song dynasty (960-1127). Ink on silk. Height 41.6 cm, Width 227.5 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Chen Hongshou (1598-1652), Searching for Plums, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink and colour on silk. Height 131.3 cm, Width 49.0 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Lin Liang (1426-after 1500), Bamboo and Birds, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink on paper. Height 154.1 cm, Width 76.5 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Unknown, Enjoying the Waterfall under the Pine Tree, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink on paper. © Shanghai Museum.

Xie Shichen (1487-after 1567), Poetic Scenery of a Cloudless Vista, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink and colour on paper. Height 193.2 cm, Width 93.9 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Nine Letters, running script, handscroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink on paper. Height 26.3 cm, Width 413.6 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Zhang Ruitu (1570-1641), Pentasyllabic Regulated Verse, running script, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink on paper. Height 193.5 cm, Width 49.2 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Lan Ying (1585-after 1664), Poem Composing in Autumn Groves, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink and colour on silk. Height 170.8 cm, Width 45.4 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Huang Daozhou (1585-1646), Extempore Verse on the Fifth Day of the New Year, running script, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink on silk. Height 217.0 cm, Width 47.5 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Wang Jian (1598-1677), Landscape in the Style of Chen Weiyun, hanging scroll, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Ink on paper. Height 34.1 cm, Width 24.3 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Monk Cheng Jiu (1637-1722), Poem, cursive script, handscroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Ink on damask silk. Height 22.8 cm, Width 317.8 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Hua Yan (1682-1756), Visiting the Eastern Mountains with Courtesans, hanging scroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Ink and colour on silk. Height 136.8 cm, Width 71.6 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Jin Nong (1687-1763), Guanyin in White, hanging scroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Ink and colour on paper. Height 95.3 cm, Width 31.2 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Zheng Xie (1693-1765), Bamboo and Rocks, hanging scroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1757. Ink on paper. Height 135.6 cm, Width 69.4 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Wang Wenzhi (1730-1802), Poem Inscribed on the Scroll of Liu Songlan's Ming Fu Xiang Hua, running script, hanging scroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1794. Ink on paper. Height 129.1 cm, Width 44.4 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Qian Du (1764-1845), Plum Blossoms, hanging scroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), dated 1838. Ink and colour on paper. Height 204.4 cm, Width 97.3 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Kang Youwei (1858-1927), Calligraphic Work, cursive script, hanging scroll, Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Ink on paper. Height 130.0 cm, Width 43.7 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957), Wine Jar and Peaches, hanging scroll, Modern, dated 1954. Ink and colour on paper. Height 100.3 cm, Width 34.3 cm. © Shanghai Museum.

Yu Youren (1879-1964), Septasyllabic Antithetic Couplet, cursive script, hanging scroll, Modern. Ink on paper. © Shanghai Museum.

Pu Ru (1896-1963), Landscape and Figures, album leaves, Modern, dated 1931. Ink and colour on paper. Height 26.6 cm, Width 16.6 cm. © Shanghai Museum