Thousand-year-old Song dynasty letter fetches 207 million yuan at auction, setting record for ancient Chinese calligraphy
The mainland’s increasingly active collectors are turning their attention from modernism to classical works, says mainland auctioner
A 124-character letter written by a renowned Chinese scholar during the Song Dynasty nearly 1,000 years ago fetched a record price of 207 million yuan (HK$245 million) at an auction in Beijing on Sunday.
The letter, the only surviving piece of work by Zeng Gong, was bought by movie mogul Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Huayi Brothers Media, one of China’s largest entertainment companies, Shanghai-based news website Thepaper.cn reported.
Industry insiders said the sale marked the first time that an ancient Chinese painting of work of calligraphy has sold for a higher price than a modern painting at the same auction.
It’s also not the first time that Zeng’s letter has set a record – seven years ago it sold for 109 million yuan, the first work of Chinese calligraphy had fetched more than 100 million yuan.
The letter, entitled Jushi Tie, was written 936 years ago by Zeng to a distant friend expressing gratitude for the latter’s help during the lowest point in his career as a government official.
