The Teiseido Collection - Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy Donated by Dr. Hayashi Munetake

Dr. Hayashi Munetake (1923-2006) was from the Lin Benyuan family, one of the three most distinguished families of Taiwan. In 1778, during the Qing dynasty, which was five generations before Dr. Hayashi, the Lin Benyuan family, then headed by Mr. Lin Yingyin, moved from Fujian province to Taipei. The family is said to have succeeded in business that involved land development, the salt monopoly, and trade, which made the Lins the wealthiest family in Taiwan.

The Lin Benyuan family has been well versed in studies and art for many generations. At Panchiao in Taipei prefecture, Dr. Hayashi's great grandfather and grandfather built Linjiahuayuan, a residence that was re-creation of the best example of Fujian garden of the late Qing dynasty, and which is said to have been a gathering spot for many scholars and authors. Dr. Hayashi's pen name, Teiseido, is derived from one of the main buildings of Linjiahuayuan.

After graduating from Taipei Imperial University, he entered graduate school at the University of Tokyo. In 1973 he became a naturalized Japanese citizen. Working as a businessman in Taiwan, Japan and America for many years, Dr. Hayashi collected Chinese painting and calligraphy with a deep interest and zeal. From early on, he published various catalogues of his collection to make them widely available for research. In his late years Dr. Hayashi donated the nearly 10,000 works of his collection, which date from the Ming and Qing dynasties to the modern period, to the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, and Tokyo National Museum.

We are pleased to present selections from the works donated by Dr. Hayashi in several installments with our renewed respect for his appreciation and enthusiasm for art and culture.