南宋 理宗 行書秋深雨過聯句 團扇|Couplet on an Autumn Sky

Emperor Lizong

Date unknown · Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk · Asian Art

Lizong was the finest calligrapher among the Song emperors who came after Gaozong (r. 1127–62). While his predecessors followed Gaozong's style, Lizong developed his own unique manner, which was distinguished by angular brushstrokes with straight rapid brush movements—in contrast to the slower, more rounded brushstrokes of Gaozong—and by his preference for Tang, rather than Jin, dynasty models. This couplet may well describe the beauty of West Lake, site of the Southern Song imperial palace: Deep in the autumn, waters are clear to the bottom [of the lake], After rain, blueness extends across the sky.

Artist

Emperor Lizong

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988