Chen Qi, who styled himself as "Cangquan" , is a modern collector. Chen Qi was born in Fujian on March 8, 1912, in a merchant family. He was well educated in traditional culture since childhood. Chen Qi began to learn literacy from his grandfather since 1916, and had studied enlightenment readings such as "Three Character Classic", "Thousand Poems", "Book of Filial Piety", and Confucian classics, etc.. He also studied Tang Kai as daily calligraphy class. In 1927, Chen Qi was enrolled in a church school. In 1928, Chen Qi dropped out of school due to illness. While recuperating at home, he read books and newspapers, and gained a deeper understanding of the devastated and weakened old Chinese society from his communications with businessmen from the South. Just like other youths full with aspirations in the turbulent time, Chen Qi determined to transform China and save Chinese people from the crisis. In 1932, Chen Qi went to Japan and was enrolled in the famous Imperial Japanese Army Academy, a military school founded in 1868. Imperial Japanese Army Academy was committed to Militaristic Spiritual Education and had successfully trained a large number of senior generals participated in the war of aggression against China later on. Many famous modern Chinese generals also graduated from Imperial JapaneseArmy Academy, such as Cai E, Ying Heqin, Li Rujiong, Tang Enbo, etc. While Chen Qi was in Japan, he not only met his wife, Qiuben Jiumeizi, in May 1935, he also got to know Chinese painter, Fu Baoshi, who was holding an exhibition at the time. It was the first exhibition Fu Baoshi held in Japan. Both staying in the foreign country, the two became friends right away. In June of the same year, Fu Baoshi went back to China due to his mother's serious illness. Two months later, Chen Qi returned to China as well and was invited by Fu Baoshi to visit Nanchang, where Fu held his first personal exhibition in China. In 1935, Chen Qi was appointed by National Revolutionary Army to teach at the Republic of China Military Academy, also known as Huangpu Military Academy. He became Deputy Director of Training and was granted the rank of Major General. During his tenure, he had made a great contribution through training of military personnel. Just like what the founder of modern China, Sun Yat-sen, had said, "we found this school to lead the students to become the foundation of the revolutionary army. You will be the future elites of the revolutionary army. And this is the way that lead to our success in the revolution." During his term as director, Chen Qi developed extensive social contacts not only in politics, but also in business, literary and art circles. He also concentrated in calligraphy, reading and painting. In January 1936, Chen Qi went to Tianjin to attend an exhibition in Tianjin Yong'An Restaurant, held by a group of painters including Zhang Daqian, Zhang Shanzi, Xiao Qianzhong, Hu Peiheng, Xu Yansun, Yu Fei'an, and He Haixia. During the trip, besides political and business affairs, Chen Qi made contacts with celebrities in literary and art circles, including Mei Lanfang and Qi Baishi. Although working in the military during the turbulent time, Chen Qi was still deeply affected by Confucianism and traditional cultural education he received since childhood. He continued studying in painting and focused on the collection of various arts and antiques from various Chinese dynasties. In 1955, after arriving at Taiwan, Chen Qi was appointed as a military official of the embassy in Indonesia. He attended multiple international affairs and meetings on behalf of Nationalist Government, and often traveled between Taiwan and Indonesia due to business and political reasons. In Taiwan, he had close personal relationships with Puru, Zhang Daqian, Huang Junbi, Xu Fuguan, Hu Shih, and Yu Youren. He was also a frequent guest of Jiang Jieshi and Song Meiling. During his work in Indonesia, Chen Qi got to know Chinese painters such as Wu Zishen and Yan Wanyu, and built a close personal relationship with them. They often send each other letters and poems to maintain contacts. In 1965, Chen Qi left his job in Indonesia, and traveled frequently to mainland China during the 1980s. He was generous and made multiple contributions to nonprofit programs and organizations in his homeland, including building schools, water conservation, and the newspaper industry. Meanwhile, he continued studying calligraphy, especially during his old age, and enjoyed the simple life.
