Poem by Meng Haoran

This work features the poem “A Night-Mooring on the Jiande River” by Meng Haoran, a renowned poet of Tang dynasty (618–907). The poem captures a moment of reflective solitude: While my little boat moves on its mooring of mist, And daylight wanes, old memories begin.... How wide the world was, how close the trees to heaven, And how clear in the water the nearness of the moon! Kaneko Chosho is celebrated for his fluid, warm quality of his robust clerical script. This flat, even and tranquil style aptly evokes the reflections of people, boats, trees, and the moon shimmering on the misty river surface. His calligraphy blends clarity and gentleness with rigor, employing negative space to produce an effect like resonating echoes. (A.J.)