Journal

Qi Baishi

Qi Baishi: The Peasant Who Painted Shrimps for Eternity

Qi Baishi learned to read at twenty-seven and to paint at thirty. He died at ninety-seven, the most celebrated Chinese artist of the twentieth century. In between, he produced over ten thousand works — shrimps, crabs, cabbages, and cicadas — each one a quiet argument for the dignity of ordinary life.

Blue and White Porcelain: The Collector's Complete Guide

No style of Chinese ceramics is more recognised worldwide than blue and white porcelain. Its origins are surprising, its history is global, and its finest examples remain among the most sought-after objects in the art market. Here is what every collector should understand.

Zhang Daqian

Zhang Daqian: The Forger Who Became the World's Most Collected Chinese Artist

Zhang Daqian could forge any master — and did. His fakes hang in major museums to this day. But the story of how he transcended that reputation to become arguably the most versatile Chinese painter of the twentieth century is far more interesting.

Reading the Brush: A Collector's Guide to Chinese Calligraphy

In China, calligraphy has always ranked above painting as an art form. A single brushstroke can reveal character, training, and spirit. Learning to read it transforms a collector's eye forever.

How to Start Collecting Chinese Art: The Essential Guide

Chinese art spans five thousand years and every conceivable medium. Knowing where to start — what to look for, what to avoid, and how to build a collection with meaning — is the hardest part. This guide is where to begin.

Xu Beihong

Drawing with Two Brushes: Xu Beihong's East–West Synthesis

Xu Beihong spent eight years in Paris learning the anatomy of Delacroix's horses. He returned to China and painted them with a Chinese brush. The result was neither East nor West — it was something entirely new.

Xu Beihong

The Horse That Galloped into History: The Art of Xu Beihong

No image in modern Chinese art is more instantly recognised than Xu Beihong's galloping horse — ink-dark, muscular, mane streaming. But behind the icon lies one of the most complex stories of cultural reinvention in twentieth-century art.

Chen Weiming

The Secrets of Celadon: How Kiln Temperature Becomes Colour

At exactly 1280°C, a transformation happens inside the kiln that no glaze chemist can fully predict. Master Chen Weiming has spent 30 years learning to read these transformations.

Bamboo: The Noblest Brush Subject in Chinese Ink Art

The bamboo is not merely a plant in Chinese ink tradition — it is a moral statement. Its hollow stem represents humility; its upright growth, integrity.

Curator's Autumn Pick: Five Works for a Contemplative Season

Autumn invites a particular mood — a desire for warmth, depth, and quiet beauty. This season's picks lean toward muted earth tones and melancholy landscapes.

"It Changed How I See My Living Room" — A London Collector's Story

Sarah T. didn't know much about Chinese ceramics when she first visited our site. Now, eighteen months later, she owns four pieces and has visited Jingdezhen.

Hu Jianwen

Woodblock Meets Lacquer: Hu Jianwen's Invented Technique

It began as an accident. A bottle of Japanese urushi lacquer fell onto a freshly carved woodblock, and Hu Jianwen watched the pigment pool into the grain.

East Meets North: How to Style Chinese Art in a Nordic Interior

Both Nordic and Chinese aesthetic traditions share a reverence for negative space, natural materials, and the beauty of imperfection. They pair beautifully.