Designated as a national treasure by the Ministry of Culture in 2011, The Red Cliff by Jin dynasty artist Wu Yüan-chih is not only the oldest piece among red cliff landscape paintings in the National Palace Museum’s collection but also a monumental masterpiece created under Jurchen rule, underscoring its supreme importance.

 

Wu Yüan-chih was active during the reigns of Prince Hailing (1149–1161) and Emperor Shizong of Jin (1161–1189). Wu’s work employs a single-scene composition to depict the famous scene from Su Shi’s (1037–1101) Ode on the Red Cliff, where Su and his guests sail beneath the Red Cliff. Wu demonstrates ingenious composition, portraying four figures in a boat, with Su Shi wearing a “high ceremonial headdress” and the two guests and a boatman “drifting like reeds along the vast, misty waters.” Towering mountains dominate the vertical composition, with their cliffs sheer and precipitous and executed with brushstrokes as precise as “steel needles engraving iron.” The swirling waters and misty waves evoke a boundless expanse, while the entirety of the scroll presents a majestic atmosphere and an expansive vision.

 

The colophon includes an inscription titled “Echoing the Rhymes of Su Shi’s Red Cliff Verses.” It was written in semi-cursive script by Zhao Bingwen (1159–1232), a renowned calligrapher of the Jin Dynasty. Zhao’s calligraphy here is bold and unrestrained, reflecting admiration for Su Shi and Huang Tingjian of the Northern Song dynasty. Viewing the scroll conjures the spirit and charm of Su Shi, whose simplicity and authenticity deeply resonate with viewers, making this work a pinnacle of Jin dynasty calligraphy and paintings.