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Tsˇ¦ui
Po, a native of Anhwei province, excelled at painting Buddhist and Taoist
subjects, figures, landscapes, flowers, and animals. He was especially
noted for his works in the genre of birds-and-flowers.
This
painting depicts two magpies crying out at a solitary hare. The magpie,
relative of the crow, is known for its ingenuity, gregarious nature, and
tenacious protection of its territory from intruders. Here, a magpie is
shown in the upper right corner about to land on a branch to assist the
other one, which is perched there bending down and spreading its wings in
a display against the intrusive hare. The hare, however, seems to realize
that the magpies do not pose much of a threat, so it doesnˇ¦t seem very
frightened. In fact, it almost seems to stare at them calmly with an
expression of ˇ§I canˇ¦t even pass through?ˇ¨
Drawing
an imaginary line from the upper magpie, through the tree, and down to the
foreground, it would form of an ˇ§S,ˇ¨ which not only integrates the
composition but also creates balance and flow. The artist Tsˇ¦ui Po was
also keen on highlighting the psychological tension of the scene by
representing a strong wind that arches back the trees, bamboo, and
grasses, thereby adding further energy and drama. This ˇ§slice of
natureˇ¨ is not something easily imagined in a studio or at home. Rather,
the artist must have had years of artistic training and experience in the
wilds in order to capture this naturalistic scene. Tsˇ¦ui Po, with his
great artistic skill, has taken the essence of this event and translated
it onto silk. Thus, through a combination of his skill with brush and ink
as well as his close observation, a masterpiece in fine-line paintings
such as this is slowly produced. On the vertical trunk to the right is
Tsˇ¦ui Poˇ¦s signature along with a date equivalent to 1061 AD.
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