The Red Cliff

This painting illustrates “Ode to the Red Cliff” by Su Shi (1037–1101), one of the most famous poems of the Song dynasty (960–1279). It tells of Su’s moonlit boat trip with friends on the Yangzi River. As they drink wine and marvel at the beauty of their surroundings, they pass the Red Cliff, where a violent battle took place in ancient times. While his friends are struck by melancholy at the sobering reminder of death and mortality, Su thinks about the fragility of human existence and the endurance of nature and the universe. The artist Qian Du grew up reading literary classics and was able to learn directly from ancient paintings and calligraphy in his father’s study. He included Su’s entire verse on this small scroll.