Artwork Details
39-13/16 x 21-7/8 in. (image) 76-5/8 x 27-1/2 in. (overall)
DynastySeal: qiuyue?
Accession NumberMr. and Mrs. William R. Spurlock Fund
CopyrightAsian Art (Chinese and other Asian)
Color Palette寒山像
Hanshan was a monk of the Chan 禪 sect of Buddhism in China. At times he lived in a monastery and sometimes as a hermit in the mountains, writing poetry wherever he went, leaving it on walls and trees, leaves and rocks. Although he may have looked and acted like a fool, his behavior resulted from supreme spiritual enlightenment.
I climb the road to Cold Mountain [Hanshan],
The road to Cold Mountain that never ends.
The valleys are long and strewn with stones;
The streams broad and banked with thick grass.
Moss is slippery, though no rain has fallen;
Pines sigh, but it isn't the wind.
Who can break from the snares of the world
And sit with me among the white clouds?
(tr. by Burton Watson)
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