Poem
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.明 文徴明 行書自書詩 卷 紙本
Wen Zhengming created this masterpiece of monumental calligraphy at the age of eighty-four. The writing begins with precisely articulated brushstrokes of standard script but loosens gradually into a more spontaneous semicursive. This shift in style mirrors the content of the poem itself, which begins with scenic imagery and ends with a melancholy reflection on old age and the loss of close friends.
The poem on this handscroll is translated below:
Pushing their way through the gate, mountain ridges,
all blue-green and craggy;
A side path pierces the clouds
as you climb step by step.
Green tiles in orderly profusion—
lotus-world serene;
Ancient vines deeply penetrating—
purple cliffs crumbling away.
All that passes my eyes just leads to sorrow:
ephemeral realm of dust!
The sphere of transcendence, kept at a distance—
I’ve betrayed my monastic vocation!
Of those who wandered with us ten years ago,
half have passed away.
There is only one thing forever shining:
the votive lamp before Buddha.
—Trans. by Jonathan Chaves
Wen Zhengming created this masterpiece of monumental calligraphy at the age of eighty-four. The writing begins with precisely articulated brushstrokes of standard script but loosens gradually into a more spontaneous semicursive. This shift in style mirrors the content of the poem itself, which begins with scenic imagery and ends with a melancholy reflection on old age and the loss of close friends.
The poem on this handscroll is translated below:
Pushing their way through the gate, mountain ridges,
all blue-green and craggy;
A side path pierces the clouds
as you climb step by step.
Green tiles in orderly profusion—
lotus-world serene;
Ancient vines deeply penetrating—
purple cliffs crumbling away.
All that passes my eyes just leads to sorrow:
ephemeral realm of dust!
The sphere of transcendence, kept at a distance—
I’ve betrayed my monastic vocation!
Of those who wandered with us ten years ago,
half have passed away.
There is only one thing forever shining:
the votive lamp before Buddha.
—Trans. by Jonathan Chaves
Artwork Details
- 明 文徴明 行書自書詩 卷
- Title: Poem
- Calligrapher: Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470–1559)
- Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Date: 1553
- Culture: China
- Medium: Handscroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 17 3/8 × 182 5/8 in. (44.1 × 463.9 cm)
Overall with mounting: 18 7/8 × 198 1/2 in. (47.9 × 504.2 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Lent by Guanyuan Shanzhuang Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art