ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)

COLLECTION OF Mrs. Chang Chung-ho Frankel
Chang Chung-ho Frankel and Zhang Daqian met in Sichuan in the 40's. Chang was born in 1913, and was one of the famous Four Sisters of Hefei group during the Republic of China period. She learnt classics at Beijing University in the 30's and was particularly skilled as a Kunqu opera singer and in calligraphy, studying under Shen Yinmo (1887-1971). She married Professor Hans Frankel (1916-2003) and emmigrated to the States in 1949 where he later taught Chinese literature at Yale University. Together in 1995 they published a translation and commentary on two pivotal studies of Chinese calligraphy, Two Chinese Treatises on Calligraphy. Mrs. Frankel recalled that during one of Zhang Daqian's visits to the States, he found her garden so pretty that he made paintings of flowers as a gift in honour of it.