Detail View: The AMICA Library: Meditative Visit to a Mountain Retreat

AMICA ID: 
CMA_.1962.42
AMICA Library Year: 
2003
Object Type: 
Paintings
Creator Name: 
Xiang Shengmo
Creator Nationality: 
Chinese
Creator Role: 
artist
Creator Dates/Places: 
1597 - 1658
Gender: 
M
Creator Name-CRT: 
Xiang Shengmo
Title: 
Meditative Visit to a Mountain Retreat
Title Type: 
Primary
View: 
Detail
Creation Date: 
1648
Creation Start Date: 
1648
Creation End Date: 
1648
Materials and Techniques: 
handscroll, ink on paper
Classification Term: 
Painting
Style or Period: 
China, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
Dimensions: 
Overall: 30.5cm x 273cm
AMICA Contributor: 
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number: 
1962.42
Credit Line: 
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Inscriptions: 
Artist's title and 3 seals (in front of painting): Meditative Visit to a Mountain Retreat. [seals] T'ien-lai-ko-chung wen-sun; Hsiang shih K'ung-chang tsui-hsin han-mo; Ch'ing-fu-yüan-chung ti-i-miao-yeh.Artist's inscription, signature, and 5 seals (at end of painting); [2 seals] T'u-wu-shou; K'ao-ku cheng-chin.Look at this person--how carefree he is;He is not carefree but yearning for his friend.Yearning for his friend who is at the other side of the horizon,Longing to visit him, but it seems so remote to turn my head.Pine or cypress? You are known for your endurance;Where, in grottos hidden by misty rain, is your haven?Mountains after mountains and waters after waters, how far away is this man,So far beyond reach that I wonder if it's possible to communicate even in spirit.Rivers and mountain passes all but obscure my view.No one now whom I can talk to and laugh with together.Ask the swimming fish at what depth dwells their happiness.Ask the flying birds to what grove they are returning.Ask the gibbons and cranes how closely they are related.Ask the deer and the swine who are shorter or longer lived.Ask the white clouds where they are from.Ask the rustling spring where it is going.Ask the fishermen and woodcutters who owns these rivers and mountains.Ask the plants and woods what measures their acres and hectares.Ask the spring and the autumn seasons why heat and the cold.Ask the mortals how long thier world will last.Ask the sun and moon what separates the dark and the light.Have they ever seen the Old Man of Crow and Hare from the days gone by?In the wu-tzu year [1648], at the beginning of the twelfth month, I happened to do this painting, so did the inscription. Hsü-ch'ao, Hsiang Sheng-mo [3 seals] T'u-wu-sou; Hsiang shih K'ung-chang, Wei-sang ssu-wen. trans. LYSL/WKH13 additional seals: 4 of T'ang Tso-mei (late 18th-early 19th c.); 3 of Chang Pai-hsi (19th c.?); 4 of Chang Heng (1915-1963); 2 unidentified.
Rights: 
Provenance: 
T'ang Tso-mei; Chang Heng; Wang Chi-ch'ien
Related Image Identifier Link: 
CMA_.1962.42det03.tif