Eight Character Couplet in Running Script《行书八言联》

Qian Chongwei (1870–1969)
Qian Chongwei, courtesy names Ziyan and Ciyan, and with the pseudonyms Chong’an and Cunyan, was from Wujiang, Jiangsu (now Suzhou Wujiang District). In the 30th year of the Guangxu reign (1904), he passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy. The following year, he went to Japan to study law at government expense. Upon returning to China, he was elected as a member of the Jiangnan Consultative Bureau. During the early Republic of China, he served as the Chief Prosecutor of the Jiangsu Provincial High Procuratorate. When the Japanese army occupied Wujiang, he sought refuge with his close friend Zhu Yuanzhi. In 1938, Zhu became the puppet county magistrate of Wujiang and tried to lure Qian out with the position of deputy county magistrate, but Qian was unmoved and fled to Shanghai, making a living by writing and selling his calligraphy until the liberation. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he served as the Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Literature and History Research Institute.

Qian Chongwei, who passed the imperial examination, had profound calligraphy skills, and remarkably, his work did not bear the official style. His calligraphy mainly followed Yan Zhenqing and also referenced the Wei stele, resulting in a heavy and solid ink style that set him apart from typical Hanlin calligraphers. This couplet, written for Mr. Liu Guojun, exemplifies his large-character calligraphy and attests to their friendship. It is quite remarkable.

Translation of couplet: “In exploring and delving deeply, we uphold the duty of creation; Inheriting the flourishing legacy, nurturing the path and enriching literature.”

钱崇威（1870—1969），字自严、慈严，号崇安、存雁，江苏吴江（今苏州吴江区）人。清光绪三十年(1904)中进士，殿试入翰林，次年官费东渡日本学法律。回国后，被选为江南咨议局议员。民国初任江苏省高等检察所检察长。日军侵占吴江时，避难至密友朱元直家。1938年，朱出任伪吴江县长，以副县长之职诱他出山，他不为所动，愤而出走至上海，以卖文鬻字为生直至解放。新中国成立后，任江苏省文史馆馆长。

钱崇威为进士出身，书法功底很深，最为难得的是他无馆阁气。其书主取法颜真卿，又旁参魏碑，气沉墨厚，不同于一般翰林书家。此联为他写给刘国钧先生的，是其大字书法的典型面貌，亦佐证了二人的交游。颇为可观。

释文： 探賾鉤深，承务开物；袭华荫泽，毓道富文。