1-233-864 - The Museum of East Asian Art/Heritage Images

Carved soapstone plaque with scene of Su Shi at the Red Cliffs, China, mid-18th century. Qing dynasty rectangular soapstone plaque of yellowish-green colour with extensive red and grey suffusions. The plaque is carved on this side with a sampan with four occupants near pine-clad cliffs with a crane and clouds above; the four occupants can be identified as the well-known Song poet Su DongPo (1036-1101) otherwise known as Su Shi, who wrote 'The Ode to the red cliffs', a scene from which is depicted here, the poet Huang Tingjian, the monk Foyin and a servant boating under the Red Cliffs. The back is carved with a landscape scene of hills, trees, pavilions and a bridge.