Calligraphy Couplet

Riding horseback in the shade of old willows.
Birds sing deep in fine blossoms.

        —Translated by Li Ai-ling, late wife of Li Lida

This poem was reportedly carved on boulders in the shape of stone drums during the Qin dynasty (221–206 B.C.E.). When it was rediscovered during the Tang dynasty (618–960 C.E.), this unique style of characters became known as shiguwen or stone drum script.

Born in China, Li Lida was trained in traditional Chinese calligraphy before immigrating to the United States in the late 1960s. Influenced by the gestural brushstrokes of Abstract Expressionism and his own practice in Tai Chi, Li uses the movement of writing calligraphy as a form of self-expression. Each character has different saturation levels of ink, which demonstrate how quickly or slowly Li may have moved his brush.