Couplet in cursive script

Object Details

• Artist

  Chen Xianzhang ( 1428-1500)

• Description

  Poem of fourteen characters in ink on paper. Signature of two characters. One seal. Part of original paper missing at lower left corner, the rest worn and cracked. Panel.

• Inscriptions

  The inscription written in ts'ao shu [chn], or "grass" writing, is a poetic couplet composed of two seven-character lines which run:

  [chn]

  "Wherever the light of body tread on the steaming mist There are the countless years of the pine pitch at Stone Cave."

• Provenance

  To 1945

  Mrs. Edith Drake, Chicago, Illinois. [1]

  1945

  American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement, Chicago, Illinois. [2]

  From 1945

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from the American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement, Chicago, Illinois. [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See object file. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920, “owned by Mrs. Drake Tonying acted as agent”.

  [2] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

  [3] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 1947 (January 7, 1947 to April 11, 1955)

  Special Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (August 7, 1946 to January 7, 1947)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Mrs. Edith L. Drake

  American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement (Founded 1920s)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Calligraphy

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Name

  American-Chinese Committee of the Mass Education Movement, Drake, Edith L.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Cursive script, Art, Couplet, Chinese Art, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)