Sparse trees and pavilion

Sparse trees and pavilion

Wang Meng

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wang Meng painted and inscribed this fan for the poet Chen Ruzhi (1329–1385) about 1361, when Chen came to the Hangzhou area to escape rebel uprisings near his home in Lushan, Jiangsu Province. This intimate painting and poem portray Chen as Wang knew him—as a homeless refugee living in rustic seclusion near Wang's home at Yellow Crane Mountain. Wang's poem reads: In the empty grove the whistling wind makes the leaves dance; The thatch pavilion is lonely under the noonday sun. All day long a southerly wind ripples the green waves; In a gauze cap of coarse hemp one feels no trace of summer's heat. This rustic's dwelling is near Yellow Crane Peak; In the evening he enters a deserted grotto and listens to the mountain rain.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sparse trees and pavilionSparse trees and pavilionSparse trees and pavilionSparse trees and pavilionSparse trees and pavilion

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.