Peony, 1925|Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, dated yichou (1925), inscribed by the artist and signed Nongran xi, with two artist's seals reading Zeng Xi zhiyin and Nongran.|43 3/8 x 21in (110.2 x 53.3cm)|曾熙 牡丹圖 設色紙本 立軸 1925年作Zeng Xi attained a jinshi degree in the 1903 imperial examinations, in the waning years of the Qing imperial dynasty. He would serve the Manchu court until the Xinhai Revolution in 1911; and after, Zeng Xi relocated to Shanghai, where he would establish himself as an important calligrapher and cultural presence in the thriving and dynamic art world. Among his students was a young Zhang Daqian in 1919, and Zeng Xi's colophons on classical paintings endowed them with capital. Late in his career--after the age of 60--Zeng Xi took up painting, applying his deft calligraphic skills to different subjects.