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Writings in Praise of a Houseboat
Li Mengyang Chinese
Not on view
明 李夢陽等十三家行書屋舟篇 卷 紙本
This long handscroll is at once a great collaborative work and a vivid document of a social network. Around 1500, a doctor surnamed Qian commissioned thirteen prominent men—all of whom were talented calligraphers—to compose pieces on a single handscroll in praise of his houseboat. To these powerful men, a houseboat symbolized a carefree life unmoored from responsibilities. The handscroll is also a compendium of the diverse calligraphic styles in use at the turn of the sixteenth century, when many calligraphers broke from the dominant fashion to forge individual voices.
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