Poem by Li Mengyang in running script

Object Details

• Artist

  Zhang Ruitu (1570-1641)

• Author

  Poem by Li Mengyang (1472-1529)

• Label

  In 1626, Zhang Ruitu attained the rank of Grand Secretary, which placed him at the center of imperial government. Three years later, due to factional disputes at court, he was reduced to the status of commoner and never served in office again. Retiring to his home outside Quanzhou in Fujian Province, Zhang spent the remainder of his life engaged in writing, painting, and calligraphy.

  Zhang Ruitu created a highly distinctive personal style of calligraphy characterized by strong, pointed brushwork, sharp abrupt turns, a sideways-bent brush tip, swift sudden changes in pressure, and brushstrokes that vary from thick and dark to dry and thin. His poem may be translated as follows:

  Center lake is really quite extraordinary,

  I cross the bridge and South Lake then is there;

  Stone stairways coil back upon themselves,

  Cliffside torrents suddenly appear and vanish.

  I open my window where a myriad valleys amass,

  Before the hall a single peak rises alone;

  Viewing once more these thousand bamboo groves,

  I miss the whistling hermits of antiquity.

  Translation by Stephen D. Allee

• Provenance

  To 1982

  Wang Nanping (1924-1985), Hong Kong, to 1982

  From 1982

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Wang Nanping in 1982

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Guests of the Hills: Travelers in Chinese Landscape Painting (August 23, 2008 to March 15, 2009)

  Masterpieces of Chinese Calligraphy (June 7, 1994 to March 20, 1995)

  Ming Dynasty Calligraphy and Painting (February 8, 1985 to August 26, 1985)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Wang Nanping 王南屏 (1924-1985)

• 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

  1630s, 1620s

• Name

  Wang, Nanping

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Chinese Art, Poetry, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Running script

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)