View of Lake Tai

Wen Zhengming

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wen Zhengming painted this dreamy vision of Lake Tai, China's "Great Lake," for a friend after their springtime boat ride together. Wen's poem reads: Islands spread out in a mirror, Like purple hibiscus immersed in a watery silver platter. Who can hold thirty-thousand jing [the supposed size of Lake Tai] in his bosom? I long to visit the seventy peaks [of Lake Tai] for myself. Heaven is vast, billows roll on, days turn into months. In the spring cold the water country hides fish and dragons; Sitting in the middle of the lake I seemed to hear roosters [crow] and dogs bark. Where should I find the retired statesman Fan Li?

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