Couplet in running script 行書五言對聯

Object Details

• Artist

  Bada Shanren 八大山人 (朱耷) (1626-1705)

• Label

  Books and pictures are themselves an Immortals' Chamber,

  I view the Southern Capital as the Dipper and Mount Tai.

  The exact meaning of these two poetic lines is elusive, and the current interpretation represents merely one of several possibilities. Line 1 refers to the Immortals' Chamber, an alternative name for the imperial library during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 C.E.). The building derived its name from the many texts on esoteric Daoism that were housed there. Bada may have used this allusion to enhance the definition of his own library, tushu (literally, books and pictures), mentioned earlier in the line. The first two characters in line 2, shandou, are an abbreviation for: Taishan (Mount Tai), easternmost of the five sacred mountains; and the constellation Beidou (Northern Dipper). This abbreviation is used to describe a person whom others regard as a paragon. Later in the line, the term "Southern Capital" may refer to Bada's hometown of Nanchang, which was awarded this official designation under the kingdom of the Southern Tang (937-75). In sum, the two lines may simply refer to Bada's own reclusive existence outside Nanchang in his later life, where he devoted himself to poetry and the visual arts and seldom left his library or studio.

  Translation by Stephen D. Allee

• Provenance

  To 1997

  Wang Fangyu (1913-1997), to 1997 [1]

  To 1998

  Shao F. Wang, New York and Short Hills, NJ, by descent, to 1998

  From 1998

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Shao F. Wang in 1998

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Note 1, Joseph Chang and Stephen D. Allee, May 7, 1998, in the object record, and Curatorial Note 2, Joseph Chang and Stephen D. Allee, August 18, 1998, in the object record.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Enigmas: The Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705) (June 20, 2015 to January 3, 2016)

  In Pursuit of Heavenly Harmony: Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Shanren (1626-1705) from the Bequest of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai (April 26 to October 13, 2003)

  Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Wang Fangyu (1913-1997)

  Shao F. Wang

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — funds provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Freer Gallery of Art

• Type

  Calligraphy

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s

• Name

  Wang, Fangyu, Wang, Shao F.

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911), Shao F. Wang collection, Running script

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)