Recluse Fisherman, Autumn Trees

Sheng Mao

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Inscribed by the artist: "On the fourth day of the sixth lunar month of the jichou year of the Zhizheng reign era [June 19, 1349], Sheng Mou, Zizhao of Wutang, painted this Recluse Fisherman, Autumn Trees." In the Yuan period, the recluse fisherman became the symbol of the unemployed scholar, out of work either by choice or because traditional employment through the civil service examination was unavailable to him. The true hermit-scholar "fished for fish and not for fame;" others merely pretended to fish while waiting to return to politics.

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