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Cao Zhi Composing Poetry

second half of the 17th century

Not on view

This print depicts Cao Zhi (192–232), a renowned poet with a tragic life, as a fragile youth standing on the foreground stairs. Resented for his literary talent by his powerful elder brother, the large figure sitting at the table, he was ordered to compose a poem within the time span of seven steps or suffer capital punishment. The monumental landscape screen transforms the finely detailed terrace into a stagelike space in which the human drama plays out.

Cao Zhi Composing Poetry, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, China — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Cao Zhi

Title: Cao Zhi Composing Poetry

Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)

Date: second half of the 17th century

Culture: China

Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper

Dimensions: Image: 11 1/8 x 11 7/16 in. (28.3 x 29 cm)
Overall: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.7 cm)

Classification: Prints

Credit Line: On loan from the British Museum- Bequeathed by Sir Hans Sloane

Accession Number: PI.048

The Met

Asian Art at The Met

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