Description
Inscribed by Zha Shibiao:
Rising in the morning to view the mountains
And the water half hidden by mist,
The secluded man has no mundane cares;
A fishing boat is his floating home.
The artist signed with the name "Old Man of Plum Valley." Zha Shibiao was himself a "secluded man," for his political loyalties were to the former Ming Dynasty, replaced by the Qing [Ch'ing] in 1643.
Provenance
Fine Chinese Paintings, Calligraphy and Rubbings Sale (8474), Christie's, New York, September 18, 1996, lot no. 179; Walters Art Museum, 1996, by purchase.
Inscriptions
[Translation] Rising in the morning to watch the mountain view, Water body is half hidden (by mist), The secluded man has not mundane affair (to care), The fishing boat is (his) floating home, Mei-ho Lao-jen (Old Man of Plum Valley); [Seal] Ch'a Shih-piao; [Signature] Shih-piao
Credit
Museum purchase with funds provided by the Asian Art Acquisition Fund, 1996