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Cleansing Medicinal Herbs in the Stream on a Spring Day
Yu Zhiding1703
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
A famous portraitist, Yu Zhiding here depicts the likeness of Shi Shenyi 史申義 (1661–1712), an official and poet. Master Shi, a sickly man, was deeply interested in medicinal science. The opening section of the scroll features a boy washing a fungus in fresh spring water, a basket of medicinal herbs by his side. Other servants carry a fan, a bundle of scrolls, and a cup of tea or hot wine. Master Shi sits in a bamboo grove, surrounded by fields of herbs. Returning swallows, pink peach blossoms, and blooming magnolia indicate spring, whereas the fungus conveys wishes for long life. The spring theme may express the artist’s wish for his friend’s recovery.
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Details
- Title: Cleansing Medicinal Herbs in the Stream on a Spring Day
- Creator: Yu Zhiding (Chinese, 1647-c. 1716)
- Date Created: 1703
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 38.7 cm (15 1/4 in.)
- Provenance: Shi Shenyi 史申義 [1661–1712], Jiangdu 江都, Jiangsu province, China, by descent to his family, Shi family collection, Jiangdu, Jiangsu province, China,, Zhang Yin 張崟 [1761–1829], Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, China, Zaobao 皁保 [d. 1882], (A dealer in Liuli Chang 琉璃廠, Beijing, China, sold to Zhou Zhaoxiang), Zhou Zhaoxiang 周肇祥 [1888–1954], Fujii Yurinkan Museum, Kyoto, Japan, (James J. Freeman, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Painting
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.69
- Medium: handscroll, ink and color on paper
- Original Title: 春泉洗藥圖
- Inscriptions: Title by Chen Yixi., 姑射仙人冰雪膚，新詩傳唱滿通都。/ 極知遲暮難為別，更展春泉洗藥圖。, Colophon by Chen Tingjing 陳廷敬 (1639–1712). Colophon by Wang Hongxu 王鴻緒 (1645–1723), dated 1707. Colophon by Song Luo 宋犖 (1634–1714). Colophon by Liu Yan 劉巗. Colophon by Jing Xikui 涇西夔. Colophon by Liu Yan 劉巗. Colophon by Cao Yin 曹寅. Colophon by Wang Shihong 汪士鋐. Colophon by Wang Shidan 王式丹 (1645–1718), dated 1712. Colophon by Shi Shenyi 史申義 (1661–1712), dated 1712. Colophon by Yin Yuqing 殷餘慶, dated 1712., Colophon by Chen Shixia 陳時夏, dated 1729.
- Fun Fact: In the pavilion are some of Shi Shenyi’s scholarly accoutrements: a stack of books, an antique <em>zun</em> 尊 (wine vessel), a brush holder, an ink stone, and a small chime.
- Department: Chinese Art
- Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
- Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
- Accession Number: 2000.69
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