On the cold food observance in the fourth lunar month of the third year (1082) of his exile in huangzhou (huanggang, hubei), su shi (蘇軾, 1036–1101) came to reflect the change of the seasons, his general weariness in life, and the frustrations of his career as an official, upon which he composed two poems on the cold food observance in rain (寒食雨二首). On a later date, su shi transcribed a finalized version of the text as calligraphy onto this handscroll. He wrote the characters in a semi-cursive script, but it varies considerably in thickness, distance, and size. Characters that particularly stand out include nian (年) in the second line, zhong (中) in the fifth line, wei (葦) in the eleventh line, and zhi (紙) in the thirteenth line, in which their last vertical stroke trails down for some distance. Another calligrapher, huang tingjian (黃庭堅, 1045–1105), wrote a colophon for this work on the handscroll sometime before the ninth lunar month of 1100. Place of creation: China during the Song dynasty. Dimensions: 34.2 x 199.5 cm. Medium: ink on paper. Collection: National Palace Museum. 寒食帖
Loading...
