An enlightened man

The curator believes these kinds of social services contributed to the students' devotion to the country and the people in later life.

Wen Yiduo not only designed covers for his own poetry collections like Red Candle and Dead Water, but also for works by his friends, like renowned authors Xu Zhimo and Liang Shih-chiu.

On the cover he designed for Xu's last poetry collection, The Tiger, which includes his most famous work On Leaving Cambridge Again, Wen Yiduo merged the front and back covers into one freehand, abstract depiction of a tiger skin using Chinese brush strokes.

In 1927, he created the cover for sociologist Pan Guangdan's psychological research work on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) woman Feng Xiaoqing, who, as a concubine banned from seeing her husband by his first wife, was frequently seen staring into a mirror in self-pity.

The composition, the shape of the figure and the hues in this compassionate drawing all employ Western art techniques, but are used to reflect a woman's misfortune in feudal ancient Chinese society.

"The forte of that generation lies in their excellence in Sinology, combined with their mastery of the cutting-edge academic, art and cultural achievements of the West, and the era provided them with the groundwork to give full scope to their talents," says Wen Danqing.