Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleansing Medicinal Herbs in the Stream on a Spring Day

Yu Zhiding

Date

1703

Medium

Handscroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A famous portraitist, Yu Zhiding here depicts the likeness of Shi Shenyi 史申義 (1661–1712), an official and poet. Master Shi, a sickly man, was deeply interested in medicinal science. The opening section of the scroll features a boy washing a fungus in fresh spring water, a basket of medicinal herbs by his side. Other servants carry a fan, a bundle of scrolls, and a cup of tea or hot wine. Master Shi sits in a bamboo grove, surrounded by fields of herbs. Returning swallows, pink peach blossoms, and blooming magnolia indicate spring, whereas the fungus conveys wishes for long life. The spring theme may express the artist’s wish for his friend’s recovery. In the pavilion are some of Shi Shenyi’s scholarly accoutrements: a stack of books, an antique zun 尊 (wine vessel), a brush holder, an ink stone, and a small chime.

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