Bamboo in a spring thunderstorm

Tang Yin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This fan purports to be by the Ming dynasty artist Tang Yin (with a spurious date of 1522), but the brushwork of the painting and the calligraphy indicate that it is a copy by an artist of the seventeenth century. Nevertheless, it is a fine example of bamboo painting, in which multiple tones of ink have been used to suggest depth among the leaf-laden stalks. The poem describes a spring thunderstorm that stirs bamboo before giving way to a clear, moonlit night: The crash of spring thunder sets the lush bamboo moving, Sweeping the ground with its dragon whiskers and long phoenix tails. Looking up from below the curtain I play my flute, The bright moon fills the sky, shining on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers. —Translation by Richard M. Barnhart

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