How much would a ‘thank you’ note from William Shakespeare get at auction? No such letter exists, but in China a billionaire tycoon has just bid Rmb207 million ($31.6 million) for a rough equivalent, setting the record for a piece of ancient calligraphy. This week Huayi Brothers movie mogul boss Wang Zhongjun bought the 124-character letter, which was written 936 years ago.
The letter was sent by Song Dynasty scholar Zeng Gong, and according to Thepaper.cn is his only surviving work. Entitled Jushi Tie it was written to a friend thanking him for his support during the lowest point in his career as a government official. Zeng was regarded as one of the eight ‘great prose masters’ of the Tang and Song Dynasties – a period regarded by many as the high point of Chinese civilisation (when China was far more advanced than the West, both economically and culturally).
The purchase marks a change of direction for collector Wang, who’d previously focused his attention on Western art, buying a Van Gogh for $61.8 million in 2014 and a Picasso for $29.9 million last year.
© ChinTell Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sponsored by HSBC.
The Week in China website and the weekly magazine publications are owned
and maintained by ChinTell Limited, Hong Kong. Neither HSBC nor any member of the HSBC group of companies ("HSBC") endorses the contents and/or is
involved in selecting, creating or editing the contents of the Week in China website or the Week in China magazine. The views expressed in these
publications are solely the views of ChinTell Limited and do not necessarily reflect the views or investment ideas of HSBC. No responsibility will
therefore be assumed by HSBC for the contents of these publications or for the errors or omissions therein.
Download Apps