Square Word Calligraphy: The Peach Blossom Spring Story

Medium: Ink on paper

Dimension: 330 x 490 cm (calligraphy only)

Exhibition: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

Text: 

During the reign of Emperor Shao-Wu of Eastern Tsin there was once a native of Wuling, who lived on fishing. One day he rowed up a stream, and soon forgot how far he had gone. All of a sudden he came upon a peach grove. For hundreds of paces along both banks of the stream, the peach-trees were in full bloom. No other trees were to be seen in the whole grove. The soft grass looked fresh and beautiful. Here and there falling blossoms were dancing gracefully in a thousand hues. The fisherman was beside himself with amazement. He went on further in order to reach the uppermost limits of the grove. As the peaches came to an end, the headsprings of the stream was found to issue from the side of a mountain. A narrow cave-like opening showed him some light that seemed to emerge from within. Leaving his boat he ventured in. At first it was just wide enough to admit one person. But after a few dozen paces an extensive view suddenly appeared before him. He saw the level plain stretch out far and wide, and the houses and homesteads all neatly arranged. Rich rice-fields, picturesque ponds, and mulberry and bamboo groves were everywhere. The foot-paths crossed and re-crossed one another. As the cocks crowed, the dogs barked in return. All the inhabitants busied themselves with farm work in the same manner as the people outside, so did their men and women attire themselves. The yellow-tressed old folk and the youngsters with flowing hair were all living in self-contentment. Seeing the fisherman they were so eager to find out from whence he came. He made his answers accordingly and was invited to their homes to be entertained with chicken and wine. Others in the village, on hearing of the arrival of a stranger, also flocked round to make inquiries. Of their own accord they told him of the forefathers who had, during the troublous times of the Chins, sought refuge in this place of absolute seclusion together with their families and neighbours. After having settled down here they never thought of going out again. They had been so cut off from the rest of the world that a knowledge of the times would be a revelation to them. They had not heard of the Han Dynasty, not to say the Wei and the Tsin. The fisherman informed them all about these changes, and they could not help being deeply affected. Then more of them asked him to dine by turns. It was not until several days later that he begged to take leave. He was bidden, however, to keep to himself all the things talked about among them, for, they said, such matters would not be worth imparting to the outside world. Our fisherman came out, found his boat again, and took care to leave marks all along his way home. As soon as he was back to the city he told his adventure to the magistrate, who sent men to go with him. They tried to trace the marks he had left, but failed, and lost their way thither. A good scholar of Nanyang, on learning of it, was anxious to re-discover the place. Nor did he succeed, and died soon of illness. Ever since then, few have attempted the passage again.

October Two Thousand Thirteen, when creating of the spectacular installation Travelling to the Wonderland, I wrote this calligraphy piece of the poem The Peach Blossom Spring Story by Tao Yuan Ming.  Every time I read this poem, new reflections emerge. The end of the story where the fisherman tried to find the Peach Blossom Spring yet failed, bears profound metaphor: People long for the ideal world; yet the ideal world seems to be further away from us.  

Xu Bing in London

2013

Medium: Ink on Chinese paper

Dimension: 80 x 367 cm

2013

Materials: Mixed media: Stones, Clay, Mist, Light effect, Sounds of bird and insects, LCD screen 

Dimension: Varies

Location: Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

Materials: Natural debris attached to frosted glass panel

2013

Exhibition Location: Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, China

2014

Exhibition Location: Long Museum, Shanghai, China

2015

Exhibition Location: SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, USA

In 2004, I was installing an exhibition at the East Asian Art Museum in Germany. During the Second World War, 90 percent of the collection was moved to the former Soviet Union by the Soviet Red Army. Only some photos of the lost artwork are left. I hope to use the large glass showcases surrounding the existing space to create a new work that combines local history and my cultural background. I saw the potted plants behind the frosted glass wall in the office area of the airport during a connecting flight, which looked like a smudged Chinese painting. At this time, I thought of the large glass cabinets of the museum and the missing art pieces and got the inspiration for Background Story.

2013

Materials: Natural debris attached to frosted glass panel

Location:  55th Venie Biennale Collateral Exhibition, Museo Diocesano, Venice, Italy

"In 2004, I was installing an exhibition at the East Asian Art Museum in Germany. During the Second World War, 90 percent of the collection was moved to the former Soviet Union by the Soviet Red Army. Only some photos of the lost artwork are left. I hope to use the large glass showcases surrounding the existing space to create a new work that combines local history and my cultural background. I saw the potted plants behind the frosted glass wall in the office area of the airport during a connecting flight, which looked like a smudged Chinese painting. At this time, I thought of the large glass cabinets of the museum and the missing art pieces and got the inspiration for Background Story."

- Xu Bin

2003－2013

Materials: Lithograph print in two colors from 35 plates on Entrada Natural Rag paper

“Based on four idyllic ink paintings from the Suzhou Museum’s collection, painted by 17th-century artists with their imitation of previous hanging scrolls, I create this version of the classic landscapes, rendering landscape motifs such as “mountain,” “water,” “tree,” and “stone” with corresponding Chinese characters. The large characters in red, written in forms that resemble ancient pictographs on oracle bones, illustrate the pictorial forms beneath. An inscription in Square Word Calligraphy, running across all four panels, describes the Chinese tradition of 'paper copying paper' and the process of making Suzhou Landscript. ”

 - Xu Bing