Terms and conditions of use
Calligraphy in running script (couplet)
(書法 （行 書八言對聯）)
(19th century)
- Medium
- ink on paper
- Measurements
- (a) 168.8 × 34.1 cm (image and sheet)
(b) 168.5 × 34.0 cm (image and sheet) - Place/s of Execution
- China
- Inscription
- (a) inscribed in brush and ink (in image) u.c.r.: 松溪大兄雅鍳
inscribed in brush and ink on reverse u.c.l.: 趙退菴八言對聯
(b) inscribed in brush and ink (in image) c.l.: 趙光
stamped in red ink (in image) c.l.: 趙蓉舫印
stamped in red ink (in image) c.l.: 臣光信印
inscribed in brush and ink on reverse u.c.l.: 趙退菴八言對聯 - Accession Number
- 1718.a-b-D4
- Department
- Asian Art
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1956
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Gordon Darling Foundation - Gallery location
- Not on display
- Physical description
- (a) This piece of calligraphy is one of a pair. It is placed on the right side of the pair and is read first, as Chinese is read from right to left. It is written in eight Chinese characters in the xing 行, running or semi-cursive script and style of Chinese calligraphy. This vertical piece of calligraphy is also the first line of a couplet of poems, echoed and balanced by the second line of the couplet. Read from top to bottom: 清光偪人若月排榻 is translated as ‘Pure and clear light overwhelms us like moonlight pushing the couch’. The characters are well spaced and balanced. The beautiful and elegant characters are also written in a fluent and flowing rhythm. (b)This piece of calligraphy is one of a pair. It is placed on the left side of the pair and is read last, as Chinese is read from right to left. It is written in seven Chinese characters in the Xing 行, ‘running’ or semi-cursive style of Chinese calligraphy. This piece of calligraphy is also the second line of a couplet of poetry, echoing and matching in meaning the seven characters in the first line of the couplet. Read from top to bottom: 微致入理如香出煙 is translated as ‘Fine and subtle permeating like fragrance emitted from the smoke (of incense).’ This second line matches the first line of the couplet: 清光偪人若月排榻 translated as ‘Pure and clear light overwhelms us like moonlight pushing the couch’. The first two characters in each line such as 微致 meaning ‘fine and subtle’ in the second line on the left matches the first two characters 清光 meaning ‘pure and clear light’ in the first line on the right. Moreover, both ‘fragrance’ in the second line and ‘pure and clear light’ in the first line refers to ‘moonlight’. Similarly, the third and fourth characters 入理 meaning ‘permeating’ in the second line matches the third and fourth characters 偪人 meaning ‘overwhelms’ in the first line. The fifth character 如 meaning ‘like’ in the second line matches the fifth character 若 meaning ‘like’ in the first line. The sixth character 香 meaning ‘fragrance’ in the second line on the left matches the sixth character 月 meaning ‘moonlight’ in the first line. Finally, the last two characters 出煙 meaning ‘emitted (or emitting) from the smoke (of incense)’ in the second line matches the last two characters 排榻 meaning ‘pushing the couch’ in the first line. The elegant characters are beautifully spaced and balanced, written in a fluent and flowing rhythm expressing the relaxed personality of the writer and his enjoyment of the flow of the brush and ink.
