Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”

Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This vase records two texts titled “Rhapsody on Red Cliff,” masterpieces composed by the beloved poet and statesman Su Shi (1037–1101) in the autumn and winter of 1082. Its square form elegantly accommodates the two stories in both text and image. When Su visited the site commemorated in his poems, it was already rich with historical significance owing to the Battle of Red Cliff, believed to have been fought there at the end of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), but it was forever transformed by his famous poems and soon became a popular theme across all media.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”Square-form vase with decoration of Su Shi’s first and second “Rhapsody on Red Cliff”

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.