Song Su Shi Huangzhou Cold Food Festival Poem Scroll

Author: Compiled by the Press
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Fаксимiles of calligraphy by famous masters throughout history. Su Shi (1036–1101), styled Zizhan, styled Dongpo, was a native of Meishan, Sichuan. He was a renowned calligrapher, litterateur, and poet of the Northern Song Dynasty. At the age of ten, his father Su Xun traveled to study, and his mother, Cheng Shi, personally taught him calligraphy. In the second year of the Jiayou era, he passed the Imperial Examination in the Ministry of Rites, where Ouyang Xiu was astonished by his literary talent and sighed, "I should have avoided this person, as he will surely rise to prominence." During the Xining era, Wang Anshi implemented reforms, and Su Shi submitted a memorial criticizing their impracticality, leading to his exclusion by the New Party and exile as a Circuit Judge of Hangzhou. He was later transferred to the post of Governor of Huizhou and, in the second year of the Yuanfeng era, exiled again as a Deputy Commander of Huangzhou. In the Yuanyou era, he was promoted to Academician of the Hanlin Academy and later appointed Governor of Hangzhou. In the Shaosheng era, he was repeatedlyated to the position of Deputy Transport Commissioner of Qiongzhou and later died in Changzhou at the age of sixty-six. The Cold Food Observance in Huangzhou included in this volume is one of Su Shi's representative works. This piece is now housed in the Taipei Palace Museum and is regarded as the "Third Greatest Calligraphic Masterpiece in the World" (after Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion and Yan Zhenqing's Draft of a Eulogy for His Nephew). This calligraphic scroll was written during his exile in Huangzhou, and the poem reveals his then-struggling circumstances. The characters vary in size and spacing, with a dynamic and irregular rhythm, resembling scattered stones on a street or snowflakes in the rain. The brushwork is vigorous and powerful, with a grand and imposing. The interlines exude a sense of melancholy and coolness, unconstrainedly flowing onto the paper, differing from Su Shi's usual steady style. It seems that when writing this piece, his focus was not on the calligraphy itself but rather on the natural flow of inspiration, as if guided by divine assistance. The unexpected brushstrokes leave a lasting impression. This volume is published as a photolithograph of the original, to delight the calligraphy enthusiasts.