Artist: Zhao Puchu

Date: Modern

Material: Ink on paper

• Object Type：
  • CALLIGRAPHY
• Location：
  • Zhao Puchu Gallery
• Tag：
  • poem mao zedong running script handscroll zhao puchu modern ink paper

In 1963, Chairman Mao composed a ci poem in response to Guo Moruo's poem Reflections on New Year's Day (Tune: Full River Red) that was published in the newspaper Guangming Daily. Mao used the same metrical pattern. In this poem, he pointed out the futility of the anti-China forces by the Chinese metaphor 'the ants wanted to shake a tree', and used the phrase 'seize the day' to express his determination to move forward. The poem was a powerful rallying cry, encouraging the Chinese people to resist hegemony. Zhao Puchu, ever fond of transcribing Mao's poetry, combined Mao's tremendous momentum with his own mastery of calligraphy in this work. The work boasts weighty, powerful brushwork and tremendous, flowing momentum.