Object Details
Artist
Pu Xinyu, Pu Ru
Date
1959
Medium
Hanging scroll: ink on paper
Dimensions
42 13/16 × 13 3/8 inches (108.7 × 34 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Sheila Dai and Michael Messitt
Object
Number
2002.036
The calligraphy in running script shown here was written by Pu Ru in 1959, based on a poem composed (…)
The calligraphy in running script shown here was written by Pu Ru in 1959, based on a poem composed during his short visit to Japan in 1956. In the poem Pu Ru expresses his sorrow for a long life of suffering during the chaotic and turbulent years of estrangement, first from the imperial household and then from mainland China. The poem is a classical qiyan lüshi (eight-line poem with seven characters to each line) formatted in a palindromic style, which demonstrated Pu’s excellent educational background in classical Chinese art and literature. (“Debating Art: Chinese Intellectuals at the Crossroads,” curated by Yuhua Ding, with assistance by Elizabeth Emrich, and presented at the Johnson Museum February 2-July 8, 2018)
