calligraphy, paper, China, 20th century

This poem was published in the Silent Traveler in Oxford in 1944. The poem reads " Counting the footsteps in the quiet street, I feel the clear light penetrating and the dead night sinking. How sympathetic and kind the Oxford moon must be, Shinging idly on companions walking together. As she has done through the ages." The object was acquired by the V&A Museum subsequently to its loan to the display " The Silent Traveller: Chiang Yee In Britain 1933 – 1955 5 " in the Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art ( 23 April – 9 November 2012). The display explored the creative endeavours of the Chinese artist and writer Chiang Yee (1903 – 1977) during his time in Britain between 1933 and 1955.

In 1939 Chiang’s Hampstead flat was destroyed during a German bombing raid. He moved to Oxford where he lived for the next 15 years. In 1944 he wrote The Silent Traveller in Oxford. The illustrations show a development in his artistic style, revealing a new naive aesthetic and heightened colour. However, the book also includes a large number of black and white sketches and poems. This poem, transcription of a poem by Song poet Mei Yaochen, reads " On the banks are the dense grass and thick woods. I do not often know what they are called. THere are singing birds there, Which seem to be welcoming my boat."

Fe.87-2013