Epigraphic Aesthetics and Layered Histories: Li Jian and Wen C. Fong’s Bond Across Time and Continents

I would like to share my article, “Epigraphic Aesthetics and Layered Histories: Li Jian and Wen C. Fong’s Bond Across Time and Continents,” published in the latest issue of Orientations (March/April 2026).

The materials discussed in this article are currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (through May 10) (EXHIBITION｜Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: Selections from the Collection).

I would like to thank Mrs. Fong for her trust in inviting me to write about this group of works. I first encountered these fans in 2020; the group consists of approximately sixty double fans by Li Jian, which are copies after ancient calligraphy and painting. It also includes works produced by Wen Fong in his youth, as well as precious photographs, newspaper clippings, and related archival materials.

Li Jian (courtesy name Zhongqian, sobriquet Heran jushi, 1881–1956) excelled in seal, clerical, regular, running, and cursive scripts, and his interest in epigraphy also informed his painting practice. Wen Fong (1930–2018) studied painting and calligraphy under Li Jian in Shanghai. These fan paintings were produced by Li Jian in the late 1940s and were specifically made for Wen Fong to take with him to the United States. They functioned both as objects for study and as tokens of the deep bond between teacher and disciple.

The copy sources for Li Jian range from oracle bone inscriptions, bronze inscriptions, stelae, to later masters such as Bada Shanren, Gao Fenghan, and Qi Baishi. Spanning thousands of years of calligraphic history, they encompass every major script style—seal, clerical, regular, running, and cursive.

Wen Fong’s youthful practice pieces show remarkable stylistic affinity with his teacher Li Jian. Remarkably, he produced these works when he was still in his teens. The maturity and confidence of these works are astonishing, living up to the reputation he once had as a prodigy.

Taken together, these works reveal a complex game of art historical references, networks, and layered intertextual relationships. The boundaries between innocence and erudition, youth and maturity, become intriguingly blurred.

The article also touches on Li Jian’s system of “square brush” (fangbi) and “round brush” (yuanbi) and its later influence on Wen Fong’s theoretical writings. Due to space limitations, however, this aspect could not be fully explored and remains a subject for future research.

I would also like to thank Dr. Maxwell Hearn and Dr. Joseph Scheier-Dolberg at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for helping provide important information on several of the works, which made it possible for the article to appear in this issue. I am also grateful to the Met for its beautiful installation of the pieces, and I warmly encourage everyone to see the exhibition in person.

It was a truly pleasant experience working on these fans. Having the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Wen Fong’s background through this project was especially meaningful to me.

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Hui-Wen Lu, “Epigraphic Aesthetics and Layered Histories: Li Jian and Wen C. Fong’s Bond Across Time and Continents,” Orientations, 57:2 (March/April 2026), pp. 78-88.

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