Couplet

1971

Chinese, 1917 - 2018

Rao Zongyi is a poet, calligrapher, painter and scholar of many fields, including archaeology, literature, philology, musicology and history. A prolific writer with over 80 books and 500 papers, he also enjoys great fame for his poetry and lyrics, calligraphy and painting. This couplet in red ink was written between 1971 and 1972, when Professor Rao was a visiting professor at Yale University. Written in oracle bone script, which Rao has mastered through his study of Chinese paleography, this couplet reads, "The wind makes the snow dance amidst the sunlight, the music hangs like clouds on her garments." Composed by Rao, the couplet alludes to the artist's subtle praise of Chang Ch'ung-ho's expertise and performance of Chinese kun-style opera and brings the ancient Chinese script to life in a contemporary context.

Red ink on paper

Overall: 74 1/8 x 14 1/4in. (188.3 x 36.2cm)

Image: 53 x 9 3/8in. (134.6 x 23.8cm)

Gift of Chang Ch'ung-ho and Hans Frankel from their collection

2010.9.6.2

Provenance: Ch'ung-ho Chang Frankel, New Haven, CT

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fragrance of the Past: Chinese Calligraphy and Painting by Ch'ung-ho Frankel and Friends, Jan. 14 - Apr. 2, 2006.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pure Amusements: Wealth, Leisure, and Culture in Late Imperial China, Dec. 24, 2016 - May 15, 2022 [on view July 12 - Dec. 31, 2017].

Published ReferencesFragrance of the Past: Chinese Calligraphy and Painting by Ch'ung-ho Chang Frankel and Friends (Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2006), pl. 7

C.f., Palace Museum ed., Tao zhu gu jin : Rao Zongyi shu hua ji, Beijing: Forbidden City Press, 2008

Chen, Guannan. “Xiyatu yishu bowuguan cang zhang chong he shuji ji shou canh ju ou.” Shu Yu Hua Volume 9, no. 276 (September 2015): p. 22-31, reproduced p. 28.

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