Excerpt from Ban Gu's Preface to the Two Capitals Rhapsody in seal script

Object Details

• Artist

  Wang Shi (1880-1960)

• Label

  When the great Han dynasty was first established, day after day the emperor was afforded no leisure. By the eras of emperors Wu and Xuan, they finally honored the ritual officers and examined literature. Within the palace, they set up the offices of the Bronze Horse Gate and the Stone Canal Pavilion.

  The Bronze Horse Gate was located in the city of Chang'an (modern Xi'an, Shaanxi Province), the imperial capital of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.). The gate received this name because of a large bronze statue of a Ferghana horse, erected by the order of Emperor Wu (reigned 140-87 B.C.E.), that stood in front of the government office where officials gathered to await the imperial summons.

  Wang Shi, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, learned calligraphy from his well-educated father and was skillful in seal script and seal carving by the time he was a teenager. As here, his works are always symmetrical in composition and subtle in execution.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Tales of the Brush: Chinese Painting with Literary Themes (February 9 to July 27, 2008)

  Year of the Horse: Chinese Horse Paintings (February 24 to September 2, 2002)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Freer Gallery of Art

• Type

  Calligraphy

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1940s

• Name

  Wang, Shi

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth collection

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)