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Or 3611
- Record Id:
- 032-003475679
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-003475679
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100097698022.0x000001
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Or 3611
- Title:
- 仇十洲璇璣圖 Qiu Shizhou xuan ji tu [Picture of the Turning Sphere with paintings attributed to Qiu Ying]
- Additional Titles:
-
Picture of the Turning Sphere with paintings attributed to Qiu Ying
- Scope & Content:
-
The 'Picture of the Turning Sphere' 璇璣圖, or 'Star Gauge', is a figural or palindrome poem created by Su Hui 蘇蕙 during the Sixteen Kingdoms Period (304-439). It consists of a grid of 840 characters (29 x 29 with a central blank square) and can be interpreted as many different poems by reading it from different directions.
Su Hui (courtesy name Ruolan 若蘭) was one of the so-called 'Three Great Talented Women' of the Northern and Southern dynasties (386–589). She applied her talent to compiling poems in order to win back her husband, Dou Tao 竇滔.
The scroll starts with the complete star gauge followed by some poems reconfigured from the main grid. According to the colophon, the content was transcribed in 1321 by Guan Daosheng (管道昇), who also reorganized the star gauge into 3518 small poems. After the colophon is an image of Su Hui and four large panels depicting different scenes - The Weaving Ladies, Sending the Letter, Dou Tao Reads the Letter, Husband and Wife United - which are attributed to Qiu Ying.
Qiu Ying 仇英 (artist name Shizhou 十洲) was one of the 'Four Masters of the Ming dynasty' (1368-1644) and specialized in landscape painting (山水畫).
A title slip pasted on the edge of the cover reads: 風 仇十洲 璇璣圖 逸品 . It indicates the artist, content and the quality of the piece.
- Collection Area:
- Oriental Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Chinese Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-003475679", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Or 3611: 仇十洲璇璣圖 Qiu Shizhou xuan ji tu [Picture of the Turning Sphere with paintings attributed to Qiu Ying]" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-003475679
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Hierarchy:
- 032-003475679
- Container:
- not applicable
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- 1 scroll
- Digitised Content:
- Languages:
- Chinese
- Scripts:
- Chinese
Han (Traditional) - Start Date:
- 1500
- End Date:
- 1599
- Date Range:
- 16th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- Access Date:
- 10/02/2020
- User Conditions:
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Ink and colour on silk mounted on paper, wood
Dimension: 338 mm x 8150 mm
Binding: The scroll is supported on the original wood core and covered by a silk front cover with a stave.
- Source of Acquisition:
- Donated by Thomas Watters to the British Museum on 18 October 1888.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)