Cleveland Museum of Art

Poem by Wang Wei in the Cursive Script Style

Song Lizong

Date

1256

Medium

Album leaf; ink on silk

Culture

China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Poem and painting, once mounted together as one fan, exemplify the collaboration between imperial patron and court painter. Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy cites a verse from Wang Wei’s (701–761) poem, Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch when clouds arise . Ma Lin’s response is this painting. At the water’s edge, a scholar reclines by a large rock. The view leads across the empty middle ground to a distant mountain. With sparse ink and subtly graded washes, Ma Lin visualizes the poetic verse. The painting suggests the impact of Chan aesthetics through interaction between the palace, literati-officials, and monasteries around Hangzhou. The leaf facing Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy has an inscription by Zhang Daqian (1899–1983). Emperor Lizong had little interest in governmental affairs, but he was perhaps the finest calligrapher among the Song emperors.

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