Poem

Calligrapher Wen Zhengming Chinese
1553
Not on view
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

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 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