"Had I been born Chinese, I would have been a calligrapher, not a painter," Picasso once said.

Perhaps the great maestro believed Chinese calligraphy would have given him more power of expression.

His belief was commendable only in part, because Chinese calligraphy embodies in itself far more substance than a mere medium of expression.

That is why when the general public mourned the death of Qi Gong (1912-2005), one of the greatest modern Chinese calligraphers to date, they lament the passing of a generation of superb classical Chinese scholarship Qi Gong represented.

"With Qi Gong's death China has lost one of its 'living cultural treasures,'" commented Gordon S. Barrass in an interview via e-mail with China Daily.

Barrass served at the British Embassy in Beijing from 1970-72 and later at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London and started his research and collecting of modern Chinese calligraphy in the early 1990s.

"Even more sadly, his passing marks the end of the great Chinese cultural tradition of the calligrapher-poet," Barrass said.

Such schloars' learning has been characterized by their encyclopaedic knowledge of all subject matters concerning the humanities and liberal arts, from Chinese history, society, classical Chinese literature, arts connoisseurship, to the actual mastery of calligraphy and painting.

Some of them, such as Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998), were also admired for their great learning of both the East and the West.

Even though Qi Gong has remained the best-known calligrapher in the public's eye, few perhaps are aware that since 1999, Qi Gong also headed the Central Research Institute of Chinese History, whose members have been appointed by the country's premier.

The institute currently has 29 members, with an average age of 79, all leaders in their fields of history, the humanities and the arts.

Despite the fact that he also chaired the Chinese Calligraphers' Association and served as a senior scholar on a team of national experts on cultural relics, Qi Gong was always unassuming, both among his peers and towards other artists.

The straitened circumstances of his family and the poverty he grew up in as China was plunged into turmoil, the old imperial house having been brought down, probably contributed to his innate humility.

Descended from a long line of the house of Qing (1644-1911), Qi Gong learnt early on that he must carve out a career on his own. Both his father and grandfather died when he was still in his teens and he had to support the family as one of the few surviving males.

Though unable to attend formal schooling, he managed to become a private student of leading scholars and artists in Beijing.

"He was a self-made, great scholar," said Shi Shuqing, who with great respect called Qi Gong "my teacher," even though Shi himself is 83 and an accomplished scholar in his own right.

Qi Gong had an eye for the best teachers, even though some of his teachers were considered too traditional and too old-fashioned to be treated with due respect by society at large, recalled Shi.

And Qi Gong had the talent, as well as the modesty, to absorb traditional Chinese culture from all spheres, said Shi.

"That is why he became a well-rounded scholar and he attained his artistic heights mostly from his learning, or 'biwaigong,' efforts aside from brushes," said Shi.

His lack of formal education was a stumbling block.

But luck was with him when Chen Yuan (1880-1971), president of Fujen University, discovered the talented young man. And in 1933, Chen arranged for the 21-year-old Qi Gong to teach at the middle school attached to the university.

When the school principal fired Qi Gong because he lacked a college diploma, Chen promptly hired him again, this time as a full-time faculty member of the university.

Qi Gong owed much to Chen for his entry into the world of scholarly learning and he remained a teacher and professor all his life at Fujen, which later was incorporated in the Beijing Normal University.

When Shi started his studies at the Beijing Fujen University in 1941, Qi Gong was teaching Chinese language, classical Chinese literature and history there.

"He was able to narrate many historical anecdotes and his lectures were fascinating," Shi commented.

Even by that time, Qi Gong had attained some renown as a traditional Chinese painter.

In an interview with China Daily two years ago, Qi Gong said he was stimulated to learn calligraphy after a relative of his refused to let him add a colophon on his painting.

But his profound knowledge, his skill at traditional painting and his diligence enabled him to become a great modern Chinese calligrapher.

"He creates calligraphy of seemingly effortless elegance through the skillful interplay between the proportions of his characters," commented Barrass, who guest-curated the exhibition "Brushes with Surprise: The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China" at the British Museum three years ago.

Qi Gong was among the few who could produce classical works in the grand tradition of Chinese calligraphy, said Barrass.

As far as the content of what Barrass called "classical calligraphy" is concerned, the poems were "classical in flavour, but their content had become more personal, and at times savagely satirical," the British scholar noted.

"He devoted much of his later life to giving the art of classical calligraphy a wider appeal than it had ever had before, both through the freshness of his style and the engaging quality of the words he used," he said in his e-mail.

Qi Gong's learning has been highly appreciated by his students.

Yan Jing, a postgraduate majoring in modern Chinese Literature at Beijing Normal University, said he much favoured Qi Gong's poems.

"They are by no means a fuss about imaginary troubles, but full of really strong feelings," said Yan.

Personal integrity

Apart from his scholarly and artistic achievements, Qi Gong won respect from people who knew him for his wit, ingenuity, integrity, generosity and kindness.

"Qi Gong was one of the most delightful anomalies of modern China," Barrass said.

Barrass said he was greatly amused that "this 'remnant of a bygone age,' as he once described himself to me, was one of the first people in China to own a mobile phone, fly on Concorde and own a Ninja Turtle."

Recalling the persecution he suffered in the early days of New China. Shi, in tears, described Qi Gong as a kind-hearted and fair scholar, sorely wronged and labelled a "rightist" in 1957 not because he said things "politically incorrect," but because he was only trying to listen to different opinions.

"He survived the 'cultural revolution' mainly because the Red Guards believed that if he wrote out their political posters they would command more respect," Barrass wrote.

In spite of his own personal sufferings Qi Gong maintained his integrity and his consideration for other people.

Since the 1980s, the economic development has fostered a greater interest in collecting antiques and Qi Gong, one of the country's leading art connoisseurs, was frequently asked to appraise works, especially classical paintings.

He said appraising classical paintings and calligraphy was one of the careers for which he had worked the hardest and for which he had attained the most renown.

When taking on such tasks he strove to avoid seven weaknesses.

They included avoiding being influenced by the fame and renown of imperial and aristocratic families, an unquestioning obeisance to the eldery, the tendency to conceal shortcomings, to blindly believe in those already established in their art, to keep himself from harm's way and following the herd instinct.

He said he must guard against all those in order to make a fair and sound judgment.

As a teacher and professor, Qi Gong also established a grant to help students further their studies at the Beijing Normal University.

Qin Yan, a senior student at the School of the Environment, is a member of the Liyun Class, established thanks to Qi Gong's grant.

"I received a scholarship provided by Qi Gong the year I entered the university," she said. "All the 23 students in my class were beneficiaries of the scholarship aimed at helping academically excellent students who had financial difficulties."

"I met him at the opening ceremony of my class. He was very amiable, humorous and a lovely old man," Qin recalled.

"He told us stories of his childhood. He could not afford the tuition once, so his teacher permitted him to pay it later. But when he found money, he found that it was still not enough due to sudden inflation.

"I know that the reason he told the story was to help us cherish our access to education," she said.

"Qi Gong's passing is a great loss to China and to Chinese learning," said Shi.

"But he has left enormous works of art, calligraphy and writings that will remain as part of the Chinese cultural heritage."

(China Daily 07/04/2005 page5)