Crooked Pine

Wu Zhen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Because it retains its greenery even in the dead of winter, the pine symbolizes endurance and fortitude. For Yuan-dynasty scholars living under the alien rule of the Mongols, depictions of ancient pines became a potent metaphor for survival in the face of political discrimination. Wu Zhen was an educated man who in more settled times would have followed a career in government service. He chose instead to live in reclusion in the mountains of Zhejiang Province. Calling himself the Plum Blossom Daoist (Meihua Daoren), he made a humble living through the practice of divination. In his inscription, Wu describes the source of his inspiration for this painting: In winter, the eleventh lunar month of the third year of the Yuantong reign era [December 1335], while visiting the Cloudy Grotto, I saw a crooked and twisting ancient tree. So I wrote this picture to record what I saw. Meihua Daoren [the Plum Blossom Daoist, Wu Zhen] playing with ink.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art