Auction introduction: Paris has always been a major art center of the West, and a master of Chinese painting — Zao Wou-Ki — made his name there, offering the Western world a glimpse of the mystery and character of Eastern ink painting. The French poet Yves Bonnefoy spoke of how Zao Wou-ki, in silence and contemplation, transformed colors into formless yet tangible images, and described how he achieved his fine, rich expressiveness in so many different ways — through understatement and casual dialogue with the viewer, or through bold flights of imagination as his brush swept across the canvas, all of which, for perceptive viewers, produce elegant works filled with harmony, fascination, and drama. To commemorate the centenary of Zao Wou-Ki's birth, Christie's is now offering a group of 34 rare and splendid artworks. Taken together, there will be a total of four works on paper, two sets of anthologies of Zao Wou-ki prints, and 28 separate lithographs offered in celebration of this great centenary.