Cleansing Medicinal Herbs in the Stream on a Spring Day

1703

Yu Zhiding

Yu Zhiding (Chinese, 1647–c. 1716)

Chinese Art

Cleansing Medicinal Herbs in the Stream on a Spring Day, 1703. Yu Zhiding (Chinese, 1647–c. 1716). Handscroll; ink and color on paper; overall: 38.7 cm (15 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2000.69 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.

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Yu Zhiding
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on paper
Medium: handscroll, ink, color, paper
Dimensions: Overall: 38.7 cm (15 1/4 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: Title by Chen Yixi. Inscription: 姑射仙人冰雪膚，新詩傳唱滿通都。/ 極知遲暮難為別，更展春泉洗藥圖。 Translation: Colophon by Wang Shizhen 王士禛 (1634–1711): This Immortal from Mt. Gushe is marked by icy skin of perfection./ His new verses are being sung and praised throughout the capital./ We feel keenly that, at the approaching dusk, it was hard to part our ways./ So let us roll out the painting of Cleansing the Herbs [for all to see]. Inscription: Colophon by Chen Tingjing 陳廷敬 (1639–1712). Colophon by Wang Hongxu 王鴻緒 (1645–1723), dated 1707. Colophon by Song Luo 宋犖 (1634–1714). Colophon by Liu Yan 劉巗. Colophon by Jing Xikui 涇西夔. Colophon by Liu Yan 劉巗. Colophon by Cao Yin 曹寅. Colophon by Wang Shihong 汪士鋐. Colophon by Wang Shidan 王式丹 (1645–1718), dated 1712. Colophon by Shi Shenyi 史申義 (1661–1712), dated 1712. Colophon by Yin Yuqing 殷餘慶, dated 1712. Remark: Shi Shenyi, as owner of the scroll, solicited colophons from his elders and peers between 1703 and 1712. In that final year of his life, Shi himself wrote a set of verses, seemingly in response to the good will and optimism of the previous writers. In part, his colophon reads: Who would take pity on a lonely man long suffering from illness?/ Why was I mistaken as an immortal with bones of jade? Inscription: Colophon by Chen Shixia 陳時夏, dated 1729. Remark: The last colophon by Chen Shixia was likely requested by Shi Shenyi's sons years after his death.
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 2000.69
Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Exhibitions: Greeting the Spring (Chinese art rotation, galleries 240a, 239, 241c), <em>Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 122)</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 22-April 22, 2002)., <em>Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 122)</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 23-October 27, 2003).
Rights Statement: CC0