Couplet
1971
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 5/16 x 14 3/16 in. (188.7 x 36.1 cm)
Image: 53 x 9 3/8 in. (134.6 x 23.8 cm)
Gift of Chang Ch'ung-ho and Hans Frankel from their collection
2010.9.6.1-.2
Provenance: Ch'ung-ho Chang Frankel, New Haven, CT
Photo: Elizabeth Mann