Asian Arts

PROVENANCE:

Property from the estate of Dr. Nathan Sivin (1931-2022), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

NOTE:

Shan Yu was a well-known general of Imperial China and was the younger brother of last Prince Su of the Qing dynasty.

Dr. Nathan Sivin (1931-2022), an eminent Sinologist and academic, focused on the history of Chinese science, medicine, and religion. He not only helped establish Daoist studies as an academic discipline but also integrated Chinese science and medicine into the general history of science.

Dr. Sivin started his academic training in 1948 at MIT, took some time off, and served in the U.S. Army from 1951-1957, during which he enrolled in a Chinese language program from 1954-1956. His interests in Chinese culture whetted, in 1958 he completed his BS at MIT and started graduate studies in the new department of the history of science at Harvard University where he completed a PhD in 1966 on the history of Chinese Alchemy. During that time he studied Chinese language and philosophy in Taipei and Chinese alchemy in Singapore. He considered himself a disciple of the classically-trained Prince Aisin-Gioro Liu Yü-Yün (1906-2011), a student of Chen Baochen (1848-1935); tutor to the last Emperor of China.

Dr. Sivin was professor at MIT (1966-1977) up until he joined the University of Pennsylvania as a professor of Chinese culture and the History of Science (1977-2006). His long career at the University culminated in the position of Professor Emeritus of Chinese Culture in the department of History and Sociology of Science. Dr. Sivin taught many classes from the Scientific Revolution in Europe to advanced classical Chinese, and delivered over 250 guest lectures in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. He served on numerous boards including that of the society he helped found, the International Society for the History of East Asian Science, Medicine, and Technology. He wrote or edited over fifteen books studying the history of science, medicine, and religion in China. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 1977 and was named an honorary professor in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1989.

Dr. Sivin and his wife, Carole Delmore Sivin, personally knew many of the important Chinese artists, historians, scientists, and scholars represented in the collection. Several works are dedicated to “Xi Wen” (Dr. Sivin’s Chinese name) by the author or artist. Dr. Sivin also collected older works created by such notables as members of the former Imperial family of China, Imperial tutors, and late-Qing dynasty statesmen. His broad scholarly interests in the culture and history of China are also evident, as the calligraphy includes works written in characters derived from ancient oracle bones and bronze ceremonial vessels, and quotations from classical writings in clerical script and running script.

Following in the tradition of classical Chinese scholars, Dr. Sivin’s collection illustrates the scholarly ideal of integration of poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seals: “Shi Shu Hua Yin”. Two notebooks of carefully annotated seal impressions show that many of the Sivin’s nearly fifty seals reflect the esteem in which he was held as a gentleman scholar. Like the calligraphy, many seals were carved and gifted by prominent artists, historians, and scholar friends, further illuminating his scholarly tastes and interests manifested in this collection.