Introduction
In accordance with the “Cultural Heritage Preservation Act,” items in the National Palace Museum’s collections are given one of three designations: “National Treasure,” “Significant Historic Artifact,” or “General Historic Artifact.” Although National Treasures can frequently be found on exhibit in the NPM, in order to make it possible for visitors to enjoy them no matter when they come to the museum, one of the NPM’s galleries has been set aside especially for a series entitled “Spotlight on National Treasures.” For this exhibition series, each season one piece of National Treasure-level painting or calligraphy is put on display in the designated gallery.
“Extempore poetry” (also called “impromptu poetry”) is written spur of the moment in response to an experience or to a flash of inspiration. Countless poets and calligraphers throughout the ages have picked up their brushes to pour their sentiments into writings inspired by the circumstances of the moment. They left behind a wealth of poems and essays that have remained popular for centuries, bearing witness to the literary splendor that underpins Chinese culture. “Calligraphic Poem on the Baotu Spring” was written by the Yuan dynasty master of painting and calligraphy Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322). In his time serving as a government minister in the city of Jinan, Zhao would frequently travel recreationally to the district’s best-known attractions, and he wrote this calligraphic scroll to pour out the feelings the glorious scenery stirred in his heart. It is especially rare for poetry and calligraphy to coincide in the way they do in “Calligraphic Poem on the Baotu Spring,” and so in 2012 Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture formally designated the work as a National Treasure. In addition to filling this scroll with elegant stanzas, exquisite brushwork, and precise applications of ink, Zhao also added an inscription addressed to his close friend, Zhou Mi (1232-1298). Zhao took up his brush and dedicated this already-completed work to Zhou—whose ancestral home was in Jinan, but who had never been there himself—expressing the sincere and straightforward sentiments behind this gift for his friend. Naturally, it would be unfitting to give this scroll no more than a passing glance. The work itself and the scenery it describes both deserve to be savored in all their detail.