Picture of Learned Men

The painting was originally called Picture of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, but over the centuries the painting was damaged, and only part of it now survives with just four of the seven characters remain. The four sages, believed to be Shan Tao, Wang Rong, Liu Ling and Ran Ji, are seated comfortably, wearing long robes, on mats. They have had a few drinks, and have loosened their garments. Each of the sages is attended by a child servant. The creator has well illustrated the figures’ facial expressions, body language, and the objects scattered or placed around them.

The seven sages of the bamboo grove were seven famous literary moguls with lofty virtues and unrestrained manners in the period of Wei and Jin (220-589). Tired of the corrupt and tyrannical rule of the then government, they tried to detach from the court and seek reclusion in Nature. As a special group in China’s literati, the seven sages of the bamboo grove has long been the theme of artistic creation. This painting by Sun Wei (birth and death years unknown) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) is believed to be the earliest one among works of the same theme that have survived to today. According to historical records, Sun had the same temperaments with the seven sages, vigorous, unrestrained and wine-loving. If the wealthy or powerful people who commissioned him to paint treated him even with a little neglect, he would not continue the mission no matter what a high price the clients pay. Maybe that’s one of the reasons that most of Sun’s works are murals in temples. It is said that Picture of Learned Men is the only known surviving scroll painting of his. This painting bears no inscription of the creator, just with a title Sun Wei’s Picture of Learn Men by Emperor Huizhong (1082-1135) of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).