The Road to Shu

Liu Du was a pupil of the last Zhe school master, Lan Ying (1585-1664), also shown in this gallery. Both artists worked in Hangzhou. Liu was an important professional painter, skilled in many formats and accomplished in painting in the styles of the old masters. His favorites were Li Cheng (919-967) whose influence can be seen here in the bare trees, and Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322). The theme of this painting, the Road to Shu, is an historical reference to the temporary collapse of the Tang court in the 8th century and the emperor Xuanzong's self-imposed exile to the distant state of Shu (Sichuan province). Liu's colophon states that the painting was dedicated to the Daoist elder Quezhai and that he was influenced in this work by the ideas of Yuan dynasty painters (14th century).

The Tang poet Li Bai wrote the Road to Shu is

difficult, every time one reads it, it makes a man