Winter Journey in the North

Zhu Yunming

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Even Zhu Yunming, one of the most versatile calligraphers of the Ming dynasty, found the shape and structure of the folding fan a challenge. He described writing on it "like asking a dancing girl to demonstrate her technique on a pile of broken bricks and tiles." This fan bears neither signature nor seal, yet the writing is distinctly Zhu's. The characters are densely packed without clearly distinguished columns, adding a pictorial dimension to the writing. Zhu successfully adopted the cursive styles of Huaisu (725–785) and Huang Tingjian (1045–1105) to the folding-fan form.

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