WANG QIUMEI (1884-1944)CorrespondencesAlbum of twenty-one double leaves, ink on paperVarious sizeThe album contains thirty-one correspondences from Wang Qiumei to Cheng Kinlo (1892-1980) before 1932.With colophon and one sealTitleslip entitled, inscribed and signed by Xu Beihong (1895-1953).Dated autumn, wuyin year (1938)Dedicated to Cheng Kinlo.‌‌NOTE:‌Wang Yan is a literati and a calligrapher from Guangdong who styled himself as Qiumei and Qiuzhai. In his early years, Wang Yan joined the Revive China Society and the United Allegiance Society, participated in revolutionary movements, and served as a reporter and editor of the revolutionary press, where he dedicated himself to promoting revolutionary ideas. After 1911, he turned to industrial development, moving to Hong Kong to join the Nanyang Brothers Tobaccopany two years later. In 1918, Wang Yan moved to Shanghai with thepany's headquarters and served as apany representative in areas such as Beijing and Tianjin, as well as operating in other industries in Shanghai. Wang studied calligraphy for over forty years and practiced in all scripts, though his cursive script proved to be the most outstanding. Besides being a collector of inscriptions, paintings, and calligraphy, Wang was also a poet and an expert on identifying paintings and scripts. He shared close friends with Huang Jie, Zhang Taiyan, Huang Binhong, Ye Gongchuo, Zhang Shanzhang, and Zhang Daqian.