Currently not on view
Seeing Off a Guest on a Mountain Path (Shanlu song ke 山路送客),
undated; ca. 1505–10
Tang Yin was a gifted scholar whose rise to high office seemed assured. He achieved first place in the civil examinations at the capital but was immediately disgraced following allegations of cheating. After the premature end of his official career, Tang Yin learned to paint and was soon forced to sell his paintings to survive. From then on, he pursued the diversions of an eccentric scholar-artist, his life entering the annals of popular legend. His independent spirit is reflected in his art, which is technically brilliant and resists classification to a particular school. In this
painting, bold brushstrokes describe large rocks that partially obscure a path leading to lakeside dwellings. The middle of the painting is undefined, hidden by misty ink washes; dramatic cliffs in the background give the impression of a vast, distant scene.
The poetic inscription reads:
In front of Mount Nüji, traversed by wild paths,
The sound of whispering pines mixes with that of a stream.
Striking his pony once, he rides into the sunset.
With wind in my ears, I see my guest off on his way.
More About This Object
Information
undated; ca. 1505–10
Asia, China
- Wen C. Fong, Images of the mind: selections from the Edward L. Elliott family and John B. Elliott collections of Chinese calligraphy and painting at the Art Museum, Princeton University, (Princeton, NJ: The Art Museum, Princeton University, 1984)., cat. no. 6
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 263 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 315
