Odes to the Red Cliff
Across the expanse of two six-panel screens, The First and Second Odes of the Red Cliff, the rhymed prose of the Northern Song literatus Su Dongpo (1037–1101), are inscribed in demonstrative calligraphy by the noted Japanese politician and calligrapher Inukai Bokudō. Reflecting his distinctive brush writing style, featuring slanted characters and elongated, sharp strokes, each character is executed in varying degrees of cursiveness yet remains isolated from the others without connecting ligatures. Bokudō was inspired Song-dynasty masters Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) and Mi Fu 米芾 (1051–1107) while simultaneously exhibiting geometric structures that reflect early twentieth-century aesthetics. This transcription of Su’s Odes embodies Bokudō’s dual aspiration as both a calligrapher and a statesman.
Originally composed in 1082 during Su’s political exile in Huangzhou, these prose pieces were written along the Yangtze River near the purported site of the Battle of Red Cliff (208 CE). Su reflects on the impermanence of political power in contract to the enduring vitality of nature, creating a meditation on temporality and the scholar’s place in the cosmos. These rhapsodies have retained unparalleled cultural resonance throughout East Asia for nearly a millennium.
The calligrapher Inukai Tsuyoshi (known by his literary name Bokudō) served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1931 until his assassination during the coup d’état of 1932. He was also a prominent calligrapher among Sinophile intellectuals in early twentieth-century Japan. His significance lies in his critical stance toward prevailing archaistic trends, particularly the study of Six Dynasties (220–589) stele inscriptions, which flourished during the antiquarian movement of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), reached Japan, and gained prominence during the Meiji period (1868–1912). Bokudō advocated the study of post-Tang dynasty literati calligraphers as an essential foundation for calligraphic practice before engaging in the eccentricities of archaism.
Originally composed in 1082 during Su’s political exile in Huangzhou, these prose pieces were written along the Yangtze River near the purported site of the Battle of Red Cliff (208 CE). Su reflects on the impermanence of political power in contract to the enduring vitality of nature, creating a meditation on temporality and the scholar’s place in the cosmos. These rhapsodies have retained unparalleled cultural resonance throughout East Asia for nearly a millennium.
The calligrapher Inukai Tsuyoshi (known by his literary name Bokudō) served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1931 until his assassination during the coup d’état of 1932. He was also a prominent calligrapher among Sinophile intellectuals in early twentieth-century Japan. His significance lies in his critical stance toward prevailing archaistic trends, particularly the study of Six Dynasties (220–589) stele inscriptions, which flourished during the antiquarian movement of the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), reached Japan, and gained prominence during the Meiji period (1868–1912). Bokudō advocated the study of post-Tang dynasty literati calligraphers as an essential foundation for calligraphic practice before engaging in the eccentricities of archaism.
Artwork Details
- 犬養木堂筆 前後赤璧賦屏風
- Title: Odes to the Red Cliff
- Artist: Inukai Bokudō (Japanese, 1855–1932)
- Period: Taishō period (1912–26)
- Date: 1919
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Pair of six-panel screens; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: each panel: 66 3/4 × 24 1/4 in. (169.5 × 61.6 cm)
Overall with mounting: each screen: 68 1/8 in. × 12 ft. 2 7/16 in. (173 × 372 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.577.3.1, .2
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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