Handscroll tells a sad love story
dragons, the river goddess moves farther and farther away.
Fishes and another mythical creature accompany the nymph who is helplessly looking back at Cao.
The legendary creature with a pair of deer’s antlers, a horse’s face, a snake’s neck and an antelope’s body was created by the painter.
The third section of the painting portrays Cao’s search for his dream lover. He travels by a double-decked boat and spends a sleepless night on the shore. However, Cao doesn’t find any trace of the nymph. Having no choice, he reluctantly returns.
The cheerful mood of their first meeting and the sad separation in the end are all vividly captured by Gu.
He had translated Cao’s words into images.
Gu had a number of unusual work habits. He would paint in a garret. And when seized by inspiration, he would ask his family to remove the stairs so he could not leave his work at whim.
His other habit was drawing the eyes as the last step. He painted the eyes of Cao’s attendants first. The expression through their eyes is quite lifeless compared with that in Cao’s eyes and the nymph’s.
Attentive, excited, enchanting, grieved, helpless, reluctant, anxious and disappointed, all the emotions unfold through their windows to the soul.
It is believed that the prototype of the heroine is Consort Mi, first wife of Cao Pi (AD 187-226) who was the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei. Cao Zhi and Cao Pi were brothers.
Many popular accounts alleged that Cao Zhi and Consort Mi fell in love when they were young. Unfortunately, Consort Mi was betrothed to Cao Pi. She was forced by her husband to take her own life in AD 221 because she complained about his lack of favor. Cao Zhi composed the poem one year after Mi’s death.
The original painting is lost. Four copies dating to the Song Dynasty (9601279) remain.
Two of the copies are held in the Palace Museum in Beijing, and another two are at the Liaoning Provincial Museum and the Freer Gallery in Washington DC.