Table screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reed

Table screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reed

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During his tour of southern China in 1765, the Qianlong emperor visited Jinshan, a small island in the Yangtze River, where Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism, was said to have crossed the river on a single stalk of reed. Inspired by this legend, the emperor composed a poem praising the patriarch and created a painting of the island. Later, he commissioned this jade plaque, which features his poem and an image of Bodhidharma on the front and his painting of the island on the back.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Table screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reedTable screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reedTable screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reedTable screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reedTable screen with Bodhidharma crossing waves on a reed

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.