Song Mi's Thatched Stream Poem Scroll

Author: Editorial Group of Selected Calligraphies from Historical Stele and Inscriptions
Publisher:
Publication Date: March 1, 1982
Features: Mi Fu (1051–1107), originally named Mi Shi, was a renowned calligrapher of the Northern Song Dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuanzhang, and he was also known as Haijiao Wai Shi and Xiangyang Manshi. Originally from Taiyuan, Shanxi, he later moved to places such as Xiangyang, Hubei, and Zhenjiang, Jiangsu. During the reign of Emperor Huizong, he served as a Calligraphy and Painting Scholar and a Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. Later, he became the governor of Huaiyang Military Prefecture and died in office. Mi Fu was celebrated in calligraphy alongside Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, and Cai Xiang, and the four are collectively known as the "Four Great Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty." He devoted great effort to copying the calligraphy of various historical masters, absorbing the strengths of many schools and integrating them into his own unique style. He excelled in running script, with a style that was elegant and flowing. The Volume of Poems from Tiao River is a self-copied manuscript of poems by Mi Fu written during his travels to Tiao (now Huzhou, Zhejiang). It was composed in the third year of the Yuanyou era (1088) of Emperor Zhizong of the Song Dynasty and is considered a masterpiece among his surviving calligraphic works. The original manuscript was on paper, measuring 30.3 cm in height and 189 cm in width. During the Qianlong era, it entered the imperial collection and was later taken to Northeast China by Puyi after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. After the collapse of Manchukuo, it was lost among many other cultural relics. In 1963, the Palace Museum acquired it, but the manuscript was already damaged and missing some sections. It was later restored by copying from a photolithographic edition of the Yanguang Studio and re-mounted.