Artist(s): Lang Shining 郎世寧 (19 July 1688 - 17 July 1766), AKA: Giuseppe CastiglioneTitle: Ai Ma Shuo 爱马说, Horse TalkInk and color on silk, Long Hand scrollSpread: Length: 69 cm, Width: 44cmSigned/Seal(s): Multiple seals, signed, endorsedDated: Endorsed by Qianlong Emperor In the Spring month of Wu Yin year (1758)Comment: "Ma Shuo" is a miscellaneous essay on borrowing and implication by Han Yu , a writer in the Tang Dynasty . This essay was written between the eleventh year (795) and the sixteenth year (800) of Zhenyuan. "Speaking" means "talking", which is an ancient argumentative genre. This article uses a horse as an example to talk about the talent issue, showing the author's cynicism and underappreciated emotion and resentment. It expresses the author's strong indignation at the feudal rulers' inability to identify talents, not reuse talents, and bury talents.PROVENANCE:From the Estate Heirloom Collections of General He Shaozhou 何绍周 (1903 - 1980), born in Xingyi County, Guizhou Province, was the nephew of Yingchen He. He served as a General in the National Revolutionary Army and Lieutenant General in the Republic of China.After graduating from the 15th class of the Japanese Army Cadet School, he entered the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy (Republic of China Military Academy) in 1924 and participated in the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party)'s Eastern Expedition and Northern Expedition. In 1939, he was promoted to Major General. In 1940, he became the Vice Commander of the newly organized 11th Army and the Vice Commander of the 8th Army, and in 1942, he became the Commander of the 88th Army. He was elected as a delegate to the First National Assembly and was promoted to Lieutenant General in September 1948. The painting collections of General He Shaozhou 何绍周 presented and offered up to auctions: ON DAY-1: from Lot-129 through Lot-160ON DAY-2: from Lot-547 through Lot-578.For More information about General He Shaozhou 何绍周, Please refer to this link: https://www.eden-galleries.com/General-he-shao-zhou-bioLOT NOTES:Giuseppe Castiglione, also known as Lang Shining 郎世寧 (19 July 1688 - 17 July 1766) in the central San Marcellino district of Milan, Italy, the site of a renowned Botteghe degli Stampator painting studio. As a youth, Castiglione learned to paint from Carlo Cornara at the studio, and he also came under the influence of the famous painter Andrea Pozzo, a member of the Society of Jesus at Trento. In 1707, at the age of 19, Castiglione formally entered the Society and traveled to the prosperous city of Genoa for further training. By this time, he had already achieved some repute as a painter and was invited to do wall paintings at Jesuit churches. At the age of 27, he received instructions to go to China, and, on the journey, did wall paintings in Jesuit churches in Coimbra (Portugal) and Macao. Castiglione's style was based on the emphasis on color, perspective, and light found in Italian Renaissance art. In China, where Castiglione went by the Chinese name Lang Shining, he came to the attention of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-1795) and served as an artist for the court. Castiglione eventually became a respected painter and earned the appreciation of the Qianlong emperor, which was a considerable honor for a foreign artist at the time. Following the taste and tradition of painting in China, Castiglione was able to forge a new style that combined elements with his Western training in art. His paintings were done with Chinese materials but often incorporate Western techniques of shading and atmospheric perspective, imparting a sense of realism to the native themes.