Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Four-Line Poem in Cursive Script
Four-Line Poem in Cursive Script

Four-Line Poem in Cursive Script

Artist (Chinese)
DynastyMing dynasty (1368-1644)
Materialsink on paper
DimensionsH. 106 3/4 in x W. 22 1/8 in, H. 271.1 cm x W. 56.2 cm (overall); H. 69 3/4 in x W. 14 1/8 in, H. 177.2 cm x W. 35.9 cm (image)
Credit LineThe Yeh Family Collection
Object number2016.260
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on view
SignedSignature: Qilong Seal: Guo Qilog yin (Seal of Guo Qilong);
InscribedAmid boundless cold fog; the wind circles round; frost strikes birds. When snowflakes give way to spring; withered plums again blossom.
More Information
Poem in cursive script
By Guo Qilong
China
Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
On loan from the Yeh Family Collection, R2002.49.54
Among writing styles in Chinese calligraphy, cursive script is considered the most spontaneous and expressive. During the Ming dynasty a large number of calligraphers practiced cursive script; large-character pieces in the hanging scroll format were particularly popular. This example is signed Guo Qilong, a name that does not appear in Ming dynasty biographies; however, it is of a style and format common during the later part of that dynasty.
The calligraphy, consisting of a four-sentence poem written in two vertical columns, reads:
Amid boundless cold fog
the wind circles round; frost strikes birds.
When snowflakes give way to spring,
withered plums again blossom.
By Qilong