During the reign of Ningzong (1202–24), his consort, the empress Yang Meizi, was a formidable presence, both in politics and in the arts. Starting out as a young musician in the palace of Empress Wu (wife of Gaozong), Yang Meizi found favor with Ningzong and in 1202 maneuvered her way into becoming his wife. Wielding great power in court politics, she had the powerful prime minister Han Tuozhou executed in 1207 without consulting her husband. In 1224, when Ningzong died, she dethroned Crown Prince Hong and supported Prince Yun, who became Emperor Lizong (r. 1224–64).
An excellent calligrapher who practiced the imperial style initiated by Gaozong (r. 1127–62), the empress may have inscribed this poem on the opposite side of a fan painting of roses by a court artist:
Snowy stamens dot the tender yellow [flowers]; The rose is drenched with the morning dew that wets my garment. As the west wind sweeps away the wild bees and butterflies, I alone, at the border of Heaven, keep company with the fragrant cassia tree.
(Wen C. Fong, trans., in Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th-14th Century [New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992], p. 237)
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南宋 楊皇后 楷書瀹雪凝酥七絕 團扇
Title:Quatrain on yellow roses
Artist:Empress Yang Meizi (Chinese, 1162–1232) , r. 1202–24;
Period:Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Date:early 13th century
Culture:China
Medium:Round fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk
Dimensions:9 1/4 x 9 5/8 in. (23.5 x 24.5 cm); with mat: 14 1/2 x 15 1/2 in. (36.8 x 39.4 cm)
Classification:Calligraphy
Credit Line:Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
Object Number:1989.363.13
Inscription: Artist's inscription and signature (5 columns in standard script)
Snowy stamens dot the tender yellow [flowers], The rose is drenched with the morning dew that dampens my garment. As the west wind sweeps away the wild bees and butterflies, I alone, at the border of Heaven, keep company with the fragrant cassia tree.[1] Yang Meizi
Gu Luofu 顧洛阜 (John M. Crawford, Jr., 1913–1988) 漢光閣 顧洛阜
Illegible: 2
[1] The poem is a transcription of Han Ju’s 韓駒 (d. 1135) “Muxi木犀.” Translation from Wen C. Fong, Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy 8th-14th Century, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992. p. 237.
John M. Crawford Jr. American, New York (until d. 1988; bequeathed to MMA)
New York. China House Gallery. "Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Dynasty Calligraphy from the John M. Crawford Jr. Collection," October 21, 1981–January 31, 1982.
Lawrence. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. "Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Dynasty Calligraphy from the John M. Crawford Jr. Collection," March 14, 1982–May 2, 1982.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Traditional Scholarly Values at the End of the Qing Dynasty: The Collection of Weng Tonghe (1830–1904)," June 30–January 3, 1999.
New York. China Institute in America. "West Lake and the Mapping of Southern Song Art," September 13, 2001–December 9, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of the Brush: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy," March 12–August 14, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Brush and Ink: The Chinese Art of Writing," September 2, 2006–January 21, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from The Met Collection (Rotation One)," October 31, 2015–October 11, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Up Close," January 25, 2020–June 27, 2021.
Shih Shou-ch'ien, Maxwell K. Hearn, and Alfreda Murck. The John M. Crawford, Jr., Collection of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Checklist. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984, p. 16, cat. no. 16.
Xu Bangda 徐邦达. Gu shuhua wei’e kaobian 古书画伪讹考辨 (Studies on forgeries and misattributions in ancient calligraphies and paintings). vol. 2, Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 1984, p. 210.
Fong, Wen C. Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th–14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, p. 234, pl. 35.
Pan Zhengwei 潘正煒. Tingfan Lou xuke shuhua ji 聼帆樓續刻書畫記 (Sequel to catalogue of calligraphies and paintings recorded at the Tingfan Lou Studio). Preface dated 1849. Reprinted in Zhongguo shuhua quanshu 中國書畫全書. Edited by Lu Fusheng 盧輔聖. Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 1993–2000, vol. 11, p. 892.
Lee, Hui-shu. Exquisite Moments: West Lake & Southern Song Art. Exh. cat. New York: China Institute in America, 2001, p. 99, cat. no.18.
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