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Couplet

I-han Chiang Chinese
1998
Not on view
Chiang I-han was a polymath who studied classical Chinese painting, calligraphy, and Euro-American modern art. In this couplet, Chiang employs a daringly off kilter clerical script to express the following admonition:

Cultivate the upright qi of heaven and earth;
Emulate the perfected sages of past and present.

養天地正氣,
法古今完人。

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Couplet
  • Artist: I-han Chiang (Chinese, 1926–2018)
  • Date: 1998
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Pair of hanging scrolls, ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image (each): 58 3/4 × 17 1/2 in. (149.2 × 44.5 cm)
    Overall with mounting (each): 93 1/8 × 20 1/4 in. (236.5 × 51.4 cm)
  • Classification: Calligraphy
  • Credit Line: Gift of Cecilia Chiang, Jenny, Chiang, and Kant Chiang, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.798.2a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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