Welcoming Dragon Boat Festival, National Palace Museum's "Du Sao" Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition Explores Classic Chu Ci Cultural Imagery
The National Palace Museum launched the "Du Sao" exhibition, exploring the classic literature "Chu Ci" and Qu Yuan's life to present the cultural customs of the Dragon Boat Festival through paintings and calligraphy. Runs until June 21.
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(Central News Agency reporter Wang Pao-er, Taipei, 14th) With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching in June, the Northern Branch of the National Palace Museum launched a new painting and calligraphy exhibition today titled "Du Sao - Chu Ci Cultural Imagery and Dragon Boats." In addition to exploring the literary classic "Chu Ci," it extends from the end of Qu Yuan's life to present the appearance of festive folk culture in different artworks.
Lin Wan-ju, a curator and assistant researcher at the Department of Painting and Calligraphy at the National Palace Museum, stated via a press release today that the exhibition name "Du Sao" contains several layers of profound meaning. The most intuitive layer is "leading the trend (Du Ling Feng Sao)," meaning to surpass one's peers. "Feng" refers to the "Classic of Poetry" and "Sao" refers to "Chu Ci," both of which are ranked as the two major classics of Chinese literature. The second meaning refers to Qu Yuan's image of loneliness and sorrow.
The first section of the special exhibition, "Qu Yuan Amidst the Flames of the Warring States," outlines the turbulent era in which Qu Yuan lived as an important minister of the Chu state. The "Curse on Chu Inscription" is a political statement from the late 4th century BC by King Huiwen of Qin, rebuking Chu's breach of contract and loss of virtue while sacrificing to the gods, rationalizing the legitimacy of Qin's military deployment. It authentically records the historical context of the great power games.
The second section, "Chu Ci: Cross-Time and Space Cultural Resonance," uses classic chapters of "Chu Ci" as a guide to lead the audience through magnificent rhetoric, appreciating the profound and omnipresent influence of "Chu Ci" in fields like calligraphy and painting. Among them is the "Li Sao Illustration" painted by Xiao Yuncong of the Qing Dynasty, an important milestone in the pictorial history of Chu Ci and considered the pinnacle of early Qing woodblock print art.
The third section, "Memory of Qu Yuan in Dragon Boat Festival Folk Customs," looks at how the end of Qu Yuan's life by drowning in the river transformed into water rituals, becoming a collective action to commemorate the poet. For example, "Acorus on a Rock by Wang Guxiang of Ming Dynasty" depicts a bonsai of acorus and strange rocks. The "Acorus Song" at the top of the painting deeply connects the plant's characteristics with Qu Yuan's "Li Sao," combining the Dragon Boat Festival customs of warding off evil and praying for longevity.
"Du Sao - Chu Ci Cultural Imagery and Dragon Boats" is on display starting today at galleries 210 and 212 of the First Exhibition Hall in the Northern Branch of the National Palace Museum, and will run until June 21.
Lin Wan-ju, a curator and assistant researcher at the Department of Painting and Calligraphy at the National Palace Museum, stated via a press release today that the exhibition name "Du Sao" contains several layers of profound meaning. The most intuitive layer is "leading the trend (Du Ling Feng Sao)," meaning to surpass one's peers. "Feng" refers to the "Classic of Poetry" and "Sao" refers to "Chu Ci," both of which are ranked as the two major classics of Chinese literature. The second meaning refers to Qu Yuan's image of loneliness and sorrow.
The first section of the special exhibition, "Qu Yuan Amidst the Flames of the Warring States," outlines the turbulent era in which Qu Yuan lived as an important minister of the Chu state. The "Curse on Chu Inscription" is a political statement from the late 4th century BC by King Huiwen of Qin, rebuking Chu's breach of contract and loss of virtue while sacrificing to the gods, rationalizing the legitimacy of Qin's military deployment. It authentically records the historical context of the great power games.
The second section, "Chu Ci: Cross-Time and Space Cultural Resonance," uses classic chapters of "Chu Ci" as a guide to lead the audience through magnificent rhetoric, appreciating the profound and omnipresent influence of "Chu Ci" in fields like calligraphy and painting. Among them is the "Li Sao Illustration" painted by Xiao Yuncong of the Qing Dynasty, an important milestone in the pictorial history of Chu Ci and considered the pinnacle of early Qing woodblock print art.
The third section, "Memory of Qu Yuan in Dragon Boat Festival Folk Customs," looks at how the end of Qu Yuan's life by drowning in the river transformed into water rituals, becoming a collective action to commemorate the poet. For example, "Acorus on a Rock by Wang Guxiang of Ming Dynasty" depicts a bonsai of acorus and strange rocks. The "Acorus Song" at the top of the painting deeply connects the plant's characteristics with Qu Yuan's "Li Sao," combining the Dragon Boat Festival customs of warding off evil and praying for longevity.
"Du Sao - Chu Ci Cultural Imagery and Dragon Boats" is on display starting today at galleries 210 and 212 of the First Exhibition Hall in the Northern Branch of the National Palace Museum, and will run until June 21.