In the early stage of cross-cultural interaction between the East and West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sculpture in Asia was generally created as a form of record, often as busts of prominent figures or works for the purpose of political propaganda. Not until well into the 20th century was it taught at fine art universities in China. The Tokyo University of Fine Arts was teaching sculpture from 1887, but it was not until the 1920s that Wang Linyi and, eventually, Hua Tianyou were teaching it at the Central Academy in Beijing. Early works by artists from these schools reflect realism and fine control. But in the 1970s artists such as Wang Keping and Ju Ming broke free of this tradition to focus more on the medium, expression and shape.

Ju Ming, who works in diverse range of mediums, including wood, bronze, stainless steel and styrofoam, is an exemplary sculptural artist of the 20th century. He seamlessly incorporates the essence of his artistic and cultural heritage into his works. His profound 'Taichi' series of wood sculptures is intrinsically linked to his physical and mental practice of Taichi, which he took up in the mid-1970s on the advice of mentor and fellow sculptor Yuyu Yang.

The sculptures in the series capture the duality of Taichi exercises - their movements and their spirit - as well as their creative, energising aspects. Taichi Series: Single Whip (Lot 43) is sculpted in camphor wood, the work is a simplified geometrical figure with reduced delineation of details. Through this gradual abstraction, the artist shifts the focus from the action of the exercise to the internal potential energy and momentum of the body. The sculpture's external angular transition is gentle, reflecting Ju Ming's comprehension of the shape and spirit of Taichi and Laozi's concept of "soft and tough, static and dynamic, straight and curved".

The lowered body of Single Whip depicts a retreat in the face of confrontation. The movement's goal is to distract and scatter the confronting force, while gathering strength to rise suddenly and take the opponent by surprise. The switch from defense to offence corresponds to the paradoxical Taoist philosophy of conquering the unyielding with the yielding. The sculpture precisely captures this ready-to-go movement in retreat, and exudes an unstoppable energy in its serenity. Such inner human power can also be experienced in Joel Shapiro's sculptures like Untitled, which has the appearance of flying, falling, being impossibly suspended in space and defying gravity.

Michiaki Kawakita, curator of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, described Ju Ming's work in the 1970s: 'Ju Ming's work projects a feeling of weight, as does the work of recent modern Japanese sculptors. Ju Ming's works also project a sense of movement, and this too our modern Japanese sculptors do. But none of our modern Japanese sculptors can do both of these things at the same time, as Ju Ming does.'