Born in 1923, Lim Tze Peng is largely a self-taught artist. In his oeuvre, ink paintings and calligraphic works feature prominently, although there is a small number of oils, watercolours and drawings. He created a unique style of ink painting using rich brush and tonal details, and this approach is often regarded as a manifestation of the Nanyang Style in the ink medium. Lim, a school principal until his retirement in the early 1980s, was awarded the Cultural Medallion by the Singapore government in 2003.Through this collection of large format calligraphy, written between 2000 and 2002 in the wild cursive script, Lim found renewed energy and vigour, producing works that are different from his earlier ones which are more scholarly. This magnificent calligraphy, which displays imposing power, is a famous phrase by Yue Fei (1103-1142), a patriot of the Southern Song dynasty, demanding the Jurchens retreat from Song territory.
