Five Character Couplet in Clerical and Regular Script《隶楷五言联》

Shen Enfu (1864–1949)
Shen Enfu, courtesy name Xinqing, was born in Wu County, Suzhou Prefecture, Jiangsu (now Suzhou, Jiangsu Province). He was a modern educator and the fourth president of Tongji University. By the age of four, he was literate, and at six, he began teaching students his age on behalf of his mother, earning the saying, “A six-year-old teacher, unheard of in ancient times.”

Shen Enfu was a prominent modern educator, and his works are extremely rare and precious. This couplet, written for Mr. Liu Guojun, reflects his elegant and refined style, making it a highly valuable piece despite Shen not being a professional calligrapher.

Translation of couplet: “This day is worth cherishing, One’s soul desires to dissipate.”

沈恩孚(1864——1949)，字信卿，生于江苏苏州府吴县（今属江苏省苏州市）。近现代教育家，同济大学第四任校长。四岁能文，六岁始常代母授同岁学生读书，时人有“六岁为师古未闻”之语。

沈恩孚为近代教育家，作品流传极少，甚为罕见。此联为他书赠刘国钧先生，虽非专业书家，然气息文雅，颇有可观之处，弥足珍贵。

释文：此日足可惜，有人魂欲销。