A LONG-ANTICIPATED exhibition marking one of the most renowned poets and calligraphers in Chinese history opened to the public Tuesday in Beijing’s Palace Museum, China’s imperial palace from 1420 to 1911.

“Man of Infinite Refinement: Special Exhibition on the Paintings and Calligraphy of Su Shi in the Palace Museum Collection” will run until Oct. 30.

It will be the first exhibition in the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Su Shi (1037-1101), also known as Su Dongpo, who lived during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), is a household name in China.

The 78 works on display are either by Su, his teachers and close friends or were created in later eras by calligraphers and painters to pay tribute to Su. Some exhibits are letters written by Su and his friends such as Huang Tingjian, who was also a prominent writer of that era.

According to Yu Wentao, a researcher of calligraphy and paintings at the Palace Museum, the quality and diversity of works related to Su at this exhibition are incomparable.

“It’s rare to showcase most of our collections on Su Shi at one time,” Yu said during a news conference Monday about the exhibition.

“And many of them have not been publicly displayed since the founding of New China in 1949,” he added.

Su is often reputed as a cultural icon for his versatility and his prolific career as a polymath. He is honored as one of the eight most outstanding essayists from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. He is also regarded as one of the four leading calligraphers of the Song Dynasty, and is noted for his contribution to fine art theories, gastronomy, horticulture and pharmacology.

Due to their cultural significance, these works were chosen to be displayed in this special exhibition, which celebrates the 600th anniversary of the Forbidden City and the 95th anniversary of the Palace Museum.

(China Daily)