Poem by Wang Wei in the Cursive Script Style
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Poem and painting, once mounted together as one fan, exemplify the collaboration between imperial patron and court painter. Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy cites a verse from Wang Wei’s (701–761) poem, Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch when clouds arise . Ma Lin’s response is this painting. At the water’s edge, a scholar reclines by a large rock. The view leads across the empty middle ground to a distant mountain. With sparse ink and subtly graded washes, Ma Lin visualizes the poetic verse. The painting suggests the impact of Chan aesthetics through interaction between the palace, literati-officials, and monasteries around Hangzhou. The leaf facing Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy has an inscription by Zhang Daqian (1899–1983).
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
