Four Oracle Bones

甲骨四片
of varied sizes and forms, all inscribed with characters, some with cut hollows, burn marks and cracks.
Length of the longest 6 3/4 in., 7.2 cm.
Property from a Prominent Chicago Collection
The Late Chingwah Lee Collection, San Francisco


Perhaps most recognized for his performance in the Academy Award winning film adaption of The Good Earth, Chingwah Lee was an important scholar, collector, cultural ambassador, and community leader whose legacy endures throughout these many areas. As the industrious second-born son to a family of nine growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Lee was compelled from an early age to support his family and larger community. In addition to working odd jobs, he founded a Boy Scout Troup, volunteered with the YMCA, and established the first English language paper by Chinese-Americans, The China Digest. As a natural leader and skilled speaker, he quickly stepped into roles as a spokesperson for Chinatown, and founded a tour company that offered a positive image of his community in the face of the intense discrimination and stereotyping against Chinese-Americans endemic to the United States at the time. After graduating from Berkeley with a degree in anthropology, he began to devote himself more seriously to studying Chinese art. His father, descended from a long line of art collectors, left him his collection which provided the young Lee a solid foundation for his pursuits in Chinese art connoisseurship. His efforts, including his Saturday series of art history lectures, appraisals, and editorials on Chinese art, resonate throughout the field to this day. After Lee’s death in 1980, most of his collection was famously sold through public auction, with only select pieces requiring specialized audience offered to private parties. The present offering includes such examples, now returning to the market after 40 years.


李清華出身舊金山唐人街，在他的少年時代，排華法案餘波猶在，華人備受歧視。李家兄弟姊妹九人，全都早早打工補貼家用。李清華不滿於這種生活，頻頻嘗試翻身，13嵗時組建了舊金山第一支華人童子軍，17嵗帶領這支童子軍為一戰募捐，並參與開辦華僑刊物《華美周報》。這些經歷幫助他申請到伯克利大學人類學專業，同時受聘于基督教青年會新建的唐人街分舘，以官方身份向民衆普及遙遠的東方文化。李清華口才好，交際能力强，久而久之被視作二代華裔的代言人。後來他的父母相繼去世，李清華接手了父親留下的古玩鋪，憑藉伯克利時代接受的學術訓練與工作中掌握的公關技巧，將小小店面打造成聞名西岸的古董行。好萊塢凡涉及東方的電影，都要向他咨詢，並委托他購置道具佈景。


1931年賽珍珠的小説《大地》出版，翌年榮獲普利策獎，米高梅公司有意改編成電影，委托李清華在中國及北美僑界徵尋演員。今天看來，這部片子的男女主角都由洋人扮演，不倫不類，然而參照那時的觀衆情感和商業利益，《大地》已經是正面描寫現實中國的少有力作了。李清華協助米高梅招聘的華人群演多達千人，有名有姓有戲份的角色十六人，考慮到這是九十年前，已經很不容易了。李清華為這部戲付出良多，在男主角保羅·穆尼的力薦下，出演了男二號亞清，是片中念白最多、戲份最重的華人角色。1937年《大地》獲奧斯卡五項提名，最終斬獲最佳女主角與最佳攝影獎。


李清華後來還出演了《花鼓歌》、《虹霓関》、《轟炸東京》、《小小金先生》等電影，但他的工作重心始終放在自己的古玩生意，以及不遺餘力地推廣中國文化。二戰那幾年，李清華曾在國防部擔任教員，晚年又受聘于本地高校。在他生命的最後階段，華裔已發展爲舊金山當家作主的大群體，舊金山的亞洲藝術博物館也已開辦。1980年李清華下世，遺產由蘇富比拍賣，成交額過百萬，幾乎所有行家都去選購，到今天還有不少精品在市面流通。本專場上拍的幾件情況比較特殊，因當年甲骨與古泉相較於瓷器、玉器、青銅等大宗過於小衆，買家很少，所以行方特別將這部分藏品匯總，僅面向小部分古董商預售，現藏家即是這樣購入的，距今已有四十年。

Additional images available upon request. Please contact Asian@HindmanAuctions.com for a complete condition report.