Ink Painting

1993

Length:80.2 x Width:46.7 (cm)

Ching Sung-Ling (1928-2012, Hebei, China) was a dedicated educator and artist who graduated from Kwang Hua University in Shanghai. He devoted much of his life to art education and founded the Tao-Tao Calligraphy and Painting Society to promote traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. His calligraphy, primarily in semi-cursive and cursive script, was shaped through study with renowned masters such as Yu You-Ren (1879-1964) and Wang Chuang-Wei (1909-1998). In painting, he trained under Fu Chuan-Fu (1910-2007), Huang Chun-Pi (1898-1991), and Chang Dai-Chien (1899-1983). Ching received numerous accolades, including awards from the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition, the National Teachers’ Art Exhibition, and the National Civil Servants Art Exhibition. He was also recognized as an Outstanding Senior Artist in Taichung and frequently participated in joint exhibitions both in Taiwan and abroad.
In Seeking Verses in the Mountains, a vast sea of rolling clouds occupies the left side of the composition, while majestic peaks rise on the right. On a forested mountain slope in the foreground, two travelers stand at the edge of a cliff, gazing into the expansive cloudscape, immersed in poetic contemplation. The middle ground is filled with mist drifting through the mountain range, and the background reveals steep, rugged peaks. Ching employs a masterful combination of techniques—including negative space, ink washes, stippling, and textural brushwork—to render a dynamic landscape filled with dramatic elevations, rocky formations, lush forests, and surging clouds. Through skillful brush control, the painting conveys the grandeur and vitality of nature in all its power.
Inscription: In the midsummer of the Gui-You year (1993), painted by Ching Sung-Ling beneath the southern window of the Drunken Cloud Studio.
Seals: Ching Sung-Ling, Drunken Cloud Studio

Accession number:20170300183