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Zhao Mengfu Writing the Heart (Hridaya) Sutra in Exchange for Tea
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The Yuan dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322) is said to have transcribed the Heart Sutra for a certain priest named Li in exchange for tea. Later, during the Ming dynasty, the professional painter Qiu Ying from Suzhou painted this scene for his patron. Here, Zhao Mengfu holds a brush and has a piece of paper laid out before him. On the table is an ink stone, an ink stick, and a small water dropper. Drops of water would dissolve the ink stick into liquid ink when it was ground on the flat square stone.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineZhao Mengfu Writing the Heart (Hridaya) Sutra in Exchange for Tea, 1542–43. Qiu Ying (Chinese, 1494–1552). Handscroll, ink and light color on paper; image: 20.6 x 78.3 cm (8 1/8 x 30 13/16 in.); overall: 21.1 x 553.6 cm (8 5/16 x 217 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1963.102
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