H x W (image): 30 x 34.3 cm (11 13/16 x 13 1/2 in)
Type:
Calligraphy
Origin:
China
Date:
ca. 1697
Period:
Qing dynasty
Label:
The poem on this album leaf, titled On Stopping for the Evening at Deer Gate Mountain, was composed by the Tang-dynasty poet Yan Fang (early-mid-8th century). In his postscript, Bada Shanren states explicitly that he wrote this leaf to "copy" the style of the Ming-dynasty calligrapher Wang Chong (1494-1533), also known as Yayi Shanren; however, the running-standard script Bada employed here has no stylistic precedent among Wang's known works. Bada's usage of the word "copying" is problematic and clearly means something other than the usual definition--perhaps something more along the lines of "inspired by." The opening and closing section of Yan Fang's eighteen-line poem may be translated as follows:
The place Pang Gong went to seek reclusion,
Is as hard to find as footprints on the waves.
My drifting boat arrives before nightfall,
I grip my walking stick and take a stroll,
Between double cliffs, the Deer Gate opens,
A hundred winding valleys heaped with gems.
Wandering abroad, I do not flee the world,
But seek the Dao to save my youthful face;
How can one follow cleverness and cunning,
Grab and contend for an awl's-tip of space?
(Translation by Stephen D. Allee)
Provenance:
To 1997
Wang Fangyu (1913-1997), to 1997 [1]
To 1998
Shao F. Wang, New York and Short Hills, NJ, by descent, to 1998
From 1998
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Shao F. Wang in 1998
Notes:
[1] According to Curatorial Note 3, Joseph Chang and Stephen D. Allee, May 7, 1998, and Joseph Chang and Stephen D. Allee, August 18, 1998, in the object record.
Collection:
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History:
In Pursuit of Heavenly Harmony: Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Shanren (1626-1705) from the Bequest of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai (April 26 to October 13, 2003)