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Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru

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Biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru

Huang Tingjian  (Chinese, 1045–1105)

Period:
Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Date:
ca. 1095
Culture:
China
Medium:
Handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions:
Image: 13 1/4 in. x 60 ft. 4 1/2 in. (33.7 x 1840.2 cm) Overall with mounting: 13 1/2 in. x 71 ft. 5 5/8 in. (34.3 x 2178.4 cm)
Classification:
Calligraphy
Credit Line:
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
Accession Number:
1989.363.4

This artwork is not on display

  • Description

    Poet, calligrapher, and Chan (Zen) Buddhist adept, Huang Tingjian believed that calligraphy should be spontaneous and self-expressive—“a picture of the mind.” Containing nearly twelve hundred characters, this handscroll is a master­piece of cursive-script writing. It transcribes an account of a rivalry between two officials: Lian Po, a distinguished general; and Lin Xiangru, a skilled strategist. Huang’s transcription ends abruptly with Lin’s words: “When two tigers fight, one must perish. I behave as I do because I put our country’s fate before private feuds.” Read in the context of Song political infighting, Huang’s transcription becomes a powerful indictment of the partisanship that led to his own banishment in 1094.

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