Calligraphy in Seal Script
Artist
Zhang Ding
(Chinese, 1917 - 2010)
Date2005
MediumHanging scroll; ink on paper
DimensionsImage: 54 × 27 1/2 inches (137.16 × 69.85 cm)
Overall (unrolled): 95 1/4 × 40 inches (241.94 × 101.6 cm)
Overall (rolled): 3 × 39 3/4 inches (7.62 × 100.97 cm)
Overall (unrolled): 95 1/4 × 40 inches (241.94 × 101.6 cm)
Overall (rolled): 3 × 39 3/4 inches (7.62 × 100.97 cm)
Credit LineGift of Yin Guanghua
Object number2011.71
SignedZhang Ding (lower left corner)
MarkingsTwo seals (lower left corner)
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThe calligraphy is brushed in ink on paper. The scripts start from a title in regular scripts on the right. The main part is a poem of 20 characters in seal script in the center. On the left is the artist's signature, inscriptions and a cyclical date in regular script, as well as two artist's seals. It is mounted in a hanging scroll of light green brocade. The content is Listening to the Flute at Night by a Clear Brook, by the poet Li Bai (701-762).Gallery Label
From a flute of the Qiang barbarians, the "Plum Blossom" refrain,
Upon a creek of Wu, nostalgia for Long River.
Beneath the moon by the cold mountain and autumn ford,
My heart breaks with sounds from the Jade Pass.
— Li Bai, poem Cynthia L. Chennault, translation
Calligraphy has been prized as art in China for nearly 2,000 years. This poem is written in seal script, an ancient form of writing used on Chinese ritual vessels and later commonly carved on stone or ivory seals.
CopyrightThis work is copyrighted. Contact the copyright holder for permission to reproduce.
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
