Page 281 - Bonhams May 12 16 London

The scene of scholars and attendants releasing two cranes from a
pavilion refers to Su Dongpo’s (AD1031-1101) literary essay ‘A Record
of Crane Releasing Pavilion’ (Fang he ting ji 放鶴亭記). Su Dongpo’s
opposition to the reforms of Wang Anshi (AD1021-1086) at the
imperial court forced him to leave for a time to take a lesser position
in Xuzhou. With his friend Zhang Tianji, Su went on excursions to the
surrounding mountains and built ‘Crane Releasing Pavilion’. According
to his own essay, as well as drinking and making merry with his friends,
he also raised two cranes and released them there. For Su Dongpo,
the crane was a symbol of the scholar-official, and releasing them to
fly high away in the mountains expressed his desire to rise above the
frustrations and factionalism of court politics. For Su Dongpo’s essay,
see the Qing dynasty anthology of classical prose, Guwen guanzhi (古
文觀止).
For a related fan-shaped box, Qianlong period and of the same size,
see D.Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London, 1992, p.135, pl.108.
A related fan-shaped cinnabar lacquer box and cover, Qianlong, was
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1798.

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