Calligraphy Couplet
Calligrapher Lianfang Songfou Chinese
Not on view
The poetic couplet on this pair of tapestries is woven to represent calligraphy written in clerical script. The background imitates spotted bamboo, which was highly regarded in China because the spots on the stalks were understood to represent the tears of two empresses after the death of the legendary ruler Shun. The signature indicates that the original calligraphy is the work of Aisin Gioro Songfu (act. early 19th century), a member of the imperial family who was Minister of the Justice from 1825 to 1826. The couplet conflates two different poems by the famous Song dynasty poet Su Shi (1037–1101):
Clear spirit and cool mind keep one from
the mundane
Good harvest and social harmony create ease.
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