Author: Mario Valdebenito

Unlike Western art, which focuses on originality, Chinese artists view the ability to capture and master another artist’s style as a talent. It is also a form of flattery and respect for the original artist. In Landscape, Zhang Daqian emulates the styles of two iconic landscape painters, Dong Yuan (934–962) and Mei Qing (1623–1697). The moist and elegant brushwork in the detailed illustrations of the budded branches and the rough crevices of the stones create a lively, yet serene spring landscape as two scholars enjoy their journey in seclusion.

The Tang-dynasty (618–907) poet, Wang Wei, known for his Fields and Gardens poetry, creates a personal and domestic scene of nature in Jin Bamboo Ridge. Devoted to Buddhism, Wang and Zhang often explored their journey toward enlightenment within their work. In the poem, Wang “enter[s] unseen on the Shang Mountain road,” where “even the woodsmen do not know,” implying a divide between the commoners and those who seek enlightenment and self-cultivation. Landscape, too, creates this contrast. The two scholars are on a journey, yet the destination is unknown—the viewers cannot see beyond the boundary of the work. The serene water, characterized by the white space, does not carry the reflection of surrounding lush vegetation. But like the water of the “deserted bend” at Jin Bamboo Ridge, it is so clear and empty that it “shines,” reflecting how emptiness is a state of mind.

Poem selection and label by Diana Chen ’17

What connects a Chinese poet and an American photographer? Both Bai Juyi’s and Lois Conner’s intention of sharing their unfamiliar art forms with a broad audience integrates the aesthetic world presented in both the poem and the photograph. The platinum print Kunming draws on techniques from Lois Conner’s studies of Ming-dynasty (1368–1644) painting. It emulates a traditional Chinese landscape painting mounted as a handscroll. Although it is not an ink painting, it shares some of its characteristics. Many Chinese ink paintings do not use color; Kunming is similarly monochromatic.

Each individual element in Conner’s composition—the river, village, and willows—requires viewers’ careful inspection, which allows different interpretations. The Tang-dynasty (618–907) poet Bai Juyi’s lyrical poem, Memories of the South, relates the passage of time and his nostalgia for the past. The respective rivers in both artworks represent a connection to the past. Just as a river changes over time, but remains the same river, each season is different, but is the same every year. In these works, while the present merges with the past, the future becomes the present.

Poem selection and label by Ava Busto Schiff ’18

In Ya Ming’s 1980 painting, cliffs rise from churning clouds, pine trees perch on the peak, and a sunrise settles over a sky dotted by distant mountaintops. When paired together, Mount Huang and Wang Wei’s poem invite audiences to quietly enter nature without disturbing the tranquility of the landscape. The poem’s narrator speaks from a mist-shrouded summit “where nobody ever comes,” suggesting a separation from society similar to Ya Ming’s painting. Infused with a lasting sense of seclusion, the two mountain landscapes unify as one through their shared solitude.

Despite centuries of separation between this Tang-dynasty (618–907) poem and the contemporary painting, the sun permeates both works—“low rays” breach Wang Wei’s “dark forest,” while reflections of the sun shower Ya Ming’s cliff sides with warm light. This sunrise mirrors the regeneration of Ya Ming’s own career as head of the Nanjing Art Academy; his interest in traditional landscape painting, a genre deemed feudal during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), led to his initial dismissal. The red-tinted cliffs in his work thus imply a rising sun, a restoration of artistic autonomy after his reinstatement.

Poem selection and label by Erin Sulla ’19

A churning waterfall cascades over cliffs in Wu Yi’s Mountain Landscape, with his dry brush strokes defining flowing water and rough rocks. A void creates an ambiguous “white rainbow” that overshadows two miniature figures standing at the cliffside, engulfed by the expanse.

In Li Bai’s The Cataract of Lu Shan, the narrator climbs a peak to view a similarly “mighty waterfall” mixing with mist as it falls from the heavens, illustrating the insignificance of humans in relation to nature. The poem not only vividly depicts the momentum and beauty of the waterfall, but also captures the poet’s desire to escape from a corrupt society and “leave the world of man forever.” This famous Tang-dynasty (618-907) poet depicted distant, illusory worlds like this landscape to reflect his bold personality. Centuries later, Wu Yi pursued traditional landscape paintings in secret under the artistic restrictions of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). 

Dissatisfied with their current conditions, both poet and painter boldly explore the boundaries of human imagination in their works. The painting captures the essence of the poem and enables the painted figures, the poem’s narrator, and contemporary viewers to immerse themselves in nature and vanish into the “mountains of renown,” separated from society and awed by the power of nature.

Poem selection and label by Ava Busto Schiff ’18, Xiaoqing Luo ’18, and Erin Sulla ’19

On the painting Old Trees and Wintry Crows, the anonymous painter inscribes the name of Wang Hui, an early Qing-dynasty (1644–1911) painter, to show admiration. This also suggests an emulation of Wang’s style—dots and long and short brushstrokes combine to create a dense composition.

Lifeless trees and crows dominate the painting and construct a desolate mood, similar to the scenery in Ma Zhiyuan’s Autumn Thoughts. “People’s homes” suggest comfort, but accentuate the overall desolation. Ma, living in the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), might have used the deserted scene as a metaphor for his country invaded by Mongols. Thus, the homeless and lonely traveler in the poem possibly refers to himself.

Composed hundreds of years earlier, Ma’s poem may have inspired the painter. The painter also witnessed a historical transition and used the desolate painting to depict 19th-century China where rebellions and wars occurred. The vague ink wash under the artist’s seals could suggest the back shadow of a homeless traveler in the poem and also likely refers to the artist who lost a place to stay. Thus, the painting parallels the poem not only visually, but also spiritually.

Poem selection and label by Xiaoqing Luo ’18

Zhao Mengfu’s handscroll Crossing Rivers, Layered Mountains enables viewers to travel across the landscape, with tree-topped rocks and faded mountains rising above the river. Zhao lived through the Mongol invasion and the establishment of the Yuan-dynasty (1271-1368). Despite his Mongol-appointed political post, he searched for meaning from earlier Chinese artists, attempting to reinvigorate tradition. The title thus suggests dynastic transition and tension between cultural traditions and later social unrest. In his painting, fishermen fulfill a restorative role of reconstruction by directly interacting with the natural world, depicting daily life despite disorder.

The poet Du Fu similarly witnessed political upheaval and the gradual decline of the once prosperous Tang dynasty (618-907). Due to the corrupted court, disillusionment sent him into solitude. In The Jiang and Han Rivers, he immerses himself in nature, removed from society. Standing “between heaven and earth,” the narrator is insignificant. The somber atmosphere – the decaying “setting sun” and “autumn wind” – highlights his loneliness, yet by comparing himself to the pure moon and clouds, Du expresses enduring ambition despite his isolation.

The poem’s narrator and painting’s figures thus demonstrate the contrasting yet codependent relationship between humans and nature. These river landscapes capture life’s cyclicity, ensuring us that the world will restore itself after destruction and bloom again – as the narrator states, “I remain ambitious at heart…I will recover,” like the war-torn world around him.

Poem selection and label by Ava Busto Schiff ’18, Xiaoqing Luo ’18, and Erin Sulla ’19

Zhu Xiuli’s Scholar by a Stream brings the natural landscape and its spiritual energy to life. The tranquility of the piece contrasts the political turbulence of Zhu’s time. The painting pulls the viewer away from turmoil and into a world of healing through nature.

According to Daoist beliefs, man and nature are inseparable. Maintaining a deep connection with the natural world contributes to a clear, moral conscience and a healthy body. The inscription on the painting reflects this belief by relating how an old man’s connection to nature allows him to feel youthful and content.

In his poem, Li Shangyin explores similar values through vivid images of the natural world. Li expresses an appreciation of natural tranquility and suggests that true contentedness is found through a transcendental connection with nature. Zhu’s painting and Li’s poem intertwine to convey the ideal “happy life” that can only be found through a profound relationship with the natural world.

Poem selection and label by Gloria Cheng ’18, Molly Hurd ’18 and Sidney Lu ’17

Flowers have long been associated with feminine beauty in Chinese culture. The modern artist Yang Gang and the Tang poet Wang Changling are both part of this tradition. They both use the motif of the lotus to explore the intimate relationship women have with nature.

In Girl With Red Lotuses, the lotuses look to be sprouting not just around the girl, but from her. It is almost as if she herself were a blossoming lotus, growing out of the muddy depths along with the flowers. Wang Changling suggests a similar relationship in his poetic descriptions of the beautiful woman, Suo Fei. The only way he can distinguish between her and her “sister flowers” is by the song she sings. The connection between Suo Fei and her lotuses goes beyond their outward appearance. They share a bond so deep that it is almost familial.

Yang Gang was born in 1946 and lived through the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976); Wang Changling lived during the Tang dynasty (618–907). These two men are separated by hundreds of years and several dynasties. Nevertheless, their shared fascination with bewitching beauties allows for a dialogue between poem and painting that transcends the bounds of time.

Poem selection and label by Molly Hurd ’18

Friendship is not limited to people sharing collective memories or emotions. It transcends space and time. This painting reinterprets a drawing in Feng Zikai’s (1898–1975) New Interpretation of Old Verses. Xue Song shows his appreciation towards Feng by following the original piece closely, and employs new media to supplement his own understanding of friendship. He uses a collage of traditional masterpieces in the background to embody the transcendence of friendship, regardless of space and time. Instead of ink, Xue uses ashes to outline the landscape and figures to symbolize rebirth. He successfully creates a dialogue and constructs a friendship with Feng and other artists.

The couplet on the upper right corner expresses the gratification of having like-minded people regardless of the distance from them. Li Bai’s poem presents the insignificance of the external world when one is surrounded by friends. In contrast with the insurmountable physical distance between friends in Xue’s painting, Li visualizes both the physical and psychological closeness between friends. Xue and Li achieve a consensus on the meaning of friendship: “We finished our songs as the stars went down” because together we forget time; “The four seas hold our friendship” wherever we are, because together “we forget the world.”

Poem selection and label by Gloria Cheng ’18

Friendship is viewed as one of the most meaningful and eternal relationships in Chinese culture. The figures in Zhou Yingqin’s painting present an endless cycle of this unbreakable bond. Zhou was a late 19th- and early 20th-century painter who lived during a time of great political upheaval. The transitional nature of the landscape is indicative of this change. The river illustrates the continuous flow of life and weaves an emotional tale of separation and reunion between the figures. Zhou asserts the idea that true friendships will always withstand life’s challenges.

Wei Yingwu was a Tang-dynasty (618–907) poet who emphasized the value of lasting interpersonal relationships. His poem describes the reunion of friends who have endured many years of separation. Like Zhou, Wei constructs an eternal cycle of friendship through his portrayal of separation and reunion. The drifting clouds and flowing rivers symbolize the emotional inseparability of true friendship. This combination of poem and painting enables the viewer to become an active participant in the relationship. We are invited into a world where we experience for ourselves an ideal friendship that transcends time and space.

Poem selection and label by Sidney Lu ’17