Lot 59: RED CLIFF

Hine Taizan (1813-1869) Red Cliff A pair of six-fold screens, ink and colour on paper; each depicting the Red Cliff and Yangtze River, scenes from the Red Cliff Rhapsody a poem by the famous Chinese poet Su Shi (1037-1101), each screen with calligraphic inscriptions taken from the poem, both signed Hi sho nen, sealed Yama shizukanishite taiko ni nitari and Hi nagakushite shonen no gotoshi, dated autumn 1865, mounted with gold leaf boarder Each screen 160 x 366cm.

160 x 366cm.

The Nanga painter Taizan was born in Hine village near Osaka, and studied Nanga under Okada Hanko (1782-1846) and calligraphy and probably painting under Nukina Kaioku (1778-1863). He painted the two screens to depict the scenes from the Red Cliff Rhapsody by Su Shi (1037-1101), also known as Su Dongpo, one of the greatest poets of the Song Dynasty. The first screen shows Su Shi travelling in a boat with some guests to the Red Cliff in the night of the autumn, 1082, during his exile. The inscription reads: White dew extended over the Long River; the water’s gleam mingled with the sky. The second screen shows Su Shi visiting there again three months later and appreciating the scenery. Winter is the drought season and the Red Cliff shows the very different appearance than what he had seen at the last visit. The inscription reads: The mountain was high, the moon small. The water level had fallen, rocks protruded. For the full translation of the Red Cliff Rhapsodies, see Su Shih, ‘Red Cliff I (1082)’ and ‘Red Cliff II (1082)’, in Richard E. Strassberg, Inscribed landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China, (Los Angeles, 1994) p. 185-88.