Three Friends of Winter, 1934|Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed, dedicated to Zhiguang, dated jiaxu dong (1934, winter) and signed Wuchang with one artist's seal reading Zheng Wuchang.|51 3/4 x 18 1/4in (131.5 x 46.4cm)|鄭午昌 嵗寒三友 設色紙本 立軸 1934年作Like many of his fellow 20th century Chinese painters, Zheng Wuchang was also a teacher, art historian and prolific author. Writing dedicated academic studies on Shitao's landscapes, Yangzhou school artists, and 19th century artist's monographs, his most well-known treatise is Zhongguo Huaxue quanshi (中國畫學全史, A Complete History of Chinese Painting) an extensive overview of Chinese artists and their practice. His promotion of Chinese art was not limited to the past, as a founding member of the Mifeng Huashi (Bee Painting Society), he also sought to promote traditional Chinese painting in 1930's Shanghai.The present painting features a dedication to "Zhiguang"--likely Xie Zhiguang (1900-1976), Zheng Wuchang's fellow Bee Society member and Shanghai-based artist, who in 1934 was enjoying enormous popularity as a commercial artist (see lot 8011), in addition to his success in exhibiting guohua painting.