Chang Kwang Wee (b. 1936) is a calligraphic artist from Guangdong, China. After migrating to Singapore at a young age, Chang taught at the now-defunct Tuan Mong School and was President of the Sicheng Calligraphy and Seal Carving Society. He held leadership positions in various clan associations such as the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan, Teo Ann Huay Kuan and Teochew Chan Clan Association. He is best known for his skills in the running script, a semi-cursive calligraphic technique.

This vertical scroll is painted in fluid and modulated strokes, a distinctive technique in Chang’s oeuvre. Here, the calligrapher intentionally portrays a segment of a longer poem, ensuring that, within its modest size, each character appears explicitly to the viewer and the piece maintains its balanced composition. The original ten-character poem in the work, written by Tang dynasty poet Li Qunyu directly translates a liminal scene of nature between seasons. Yet, like many poems within that milieu, it may also be interpreted as a metaphor for the poet’s deeper emotional consciousness. Chang’s calligraphic piece speaks to the broader history of Singapore’s Chinese community during the early- to mid-twentieth century. During this time, artists, practitioners and educators migrated from China to Singapore, imparting their knowledge of Chinese calligraphy and other modes of art and literature to the generations after them.