Shortly after the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, T’ang En-p’u (唐恩溥), the celebrated provincial graduate from Kwangtung province, was invited to join the Bureau of Historia Ch’ing. Later he was appointed deputy secretary-general to the military staff of Wu P’ei-fu (吳佩孚). His personal integrity and proficiency in classical prose were highly respected and admired by his contemporaries.

His Collection is able to illuminate the scholarship in Kwangtung province during late Ch’ing, the contents of imperial provincial examination, the connoisseurship of classical prose, the friendships with literati and eminent men, the historical tales and anecdotes, the passion for calligraphy and painting, the arts of epigraphy and tea ware, the virtues of Chinese medicine, and the fascination of spirit-writing altar. The Classical World is so distant, but her memory has been retained.

Curatorial and Editorial Department