Fish and Rocks

mid- to late 1600s

Bada Shanren

Bada Shanren (Chinese, 1626–1705)

Chinese Art

Fish and Rocks, mid- to late 1600s. Bada Shanren (Chinese, 1626–1705). Handscroll, ink on paper; overall: 29.2 x 157.4 cm (11 1/2 x 61 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1953.247 After each poem, Bada Shanren used his so-called jixingyin seal 屐形印, which resembles the impression of a shoe on soft mud.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Zhu Da
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: handscroll, ink on paper
Medium: handscroll, ink, paper
Dimensions: Overall: 29.2 x 157.4 cm (11 1/2 x 61 15/16 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: 去天纔尺五，只見白雲行。云何畫黃花，雲中是金城。 [印] 个山 Translation: Artist's inscription and 1 seal: A foot and half from heaven,/ One can see the floating white clouds./ Why do I paint the yellow flowers?/ For amid the clouds is the City of Gold. [seal] Ge shan. Remark: The scattering of chrysanthemums at the lower edge of the rock provide a visual connection with the poem’s allusion to the City of Gold. Inscription: 雙井舊中河，明月時延佇。黃家雙鯉魚，為龍在何處。 [印] 个山 Translation: Artist's inscription and 1 seal: The Twin Wells was once in midstream./ A bright moon shines in time and lingers./ The twin carp in the Huang family,/ Where do they go to change into dragons? [seal] Ge shan. Inscription: 三萬六千頃，畢竟有魚行。到此一黃頰，海潮次上笙。 [印] 个山 Translation: Artist's inscription and 2 seals: To this 36,000 qing [of water]/ Here a fish is coming at last./ It is but a yellowcheek./ Over the ocean tides rises the sound of sheng [panpipe]. [seal] Ge shan. [seal, upper right corner] Tsai-fu. Remark: One qing 頃 is the equivalent of one hundred mu 畝, a basic unit of land measurement. Numerically, 36,000 qing stands as a reference to Taihu 太湖. The poem’s reference to a yellowcheek suggests that the painting was originally longer and had included an image of another fish.. Inscription: 5 additional seals: 2 of Zhang Daqian 張大千 (1899–1983); 1 of Ta-an Chü-shih; 2 unidentified.
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 1953.247
Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund
Exhibitions: 1000 Jahre Chinesische Malerei, Chu Ta: Selected Paintings and Calligraphy, The Colors of Ink, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, Visions of Landscape: East and West, Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Silent Poetry: Masterworks of Chinese Painting, Flora and Fauna (Chinese art rotation), Masterpieces of Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1960)., Chu Ta. Vassar College Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY (February 28-April 14, 1973)., Main Asian Gallery Rotation (Gallery 122). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (March 10-April 7, 2004).
Rights Statement: CC0