Calligraphy, circa 1987Ink on paper, inscribed and with two seals lower left, another seal upper right, dedicated to Xi Wen Jiaoshou (Dr. Nathan Sivin), mounted as a hanging scroll; the title slip inscribed as a gift to Dr. Sivin from Zhong Shaohua in June 1987, Beijing.(H: 26 1/2 in.; W: 17 3/4 in.)PROVENANCE:Property from the estate of Dr. Nathan Sivin (1931-2022), Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaNOTE:Qi Gong was a descendant of the Yongzheng Emperor, and was renowned as a calligrapher and a scholar of classical Chinese literature. He was the head of the Central Research Institute of Chinese History and also was Chairman of the Chinese Calligrapher's Association.Dr. Nathan Sivin (1931-2022), an eminent Sinologist and academic, focused on the history of Chinese science, medicine, and religion. He not only helped establish Daoist studies as an academic discipline but also integrated Chinese science and medicine into the general history of science.Dr. Sivin started his academic training in 1948 at MIT, took some time off, and served in the U.S. Army from 1951-1957, during which he enrolled in a Chinese language program from 1954-1956. His interests in Chinese culture whetted, in 1958 hepleted his BS at MIT and started graduate studies in the new department of the history of science at Harvard University where hepleted a PhD in 1966 on the history of Chinese Alchemy. During that time he studied Chinese language and philosophy in Taipei and Chinese alchemy in Singapore. He considered himself a disciple of the classically-trained Prince Aisin-Gioro Liu Yü-Yün (1906-2011), a student of Chen Baochen (1848-1935); tutor to the last Emperor of China.Dr. Sivin was professor at MIT (1966-1977) up until he joined the University of Pennsylvania as a professor of Chinese culture and the History of Science (1977-2006). His long career at the University culminated in the position of Professor Emeritus of Chinese Culture in the department of History and Sociology of Science. Dr. Sivin taught many classes from the Scientific Revolution in Europe to advanced classical Chinese, and delivered over 250 guest lectures in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. He served on numerous boards including that of the society he helped found, the International Society for the History of East Asian Science, Medicine, and Technology. He wrote or edited over fifteen books studying the history of science, medicine, and religion in China. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1977 and was named an honorary professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1989.Dr. Sivin and his wife, Carole Delmore Sivin, personally knew many of the important Chinese artists, historians, scientists, and scholars represented in the collection. Several works are dedicated to “Xi Wen” (Dr. Sivin’s Chinese name) by the author or artist. Dr. Sivin also collected older works created by such notables as members of the former Imperial family of C