Quatrain on Late Spring

Song dynasty (960–1279)
Not on view
A Song palace seal impressed on the left-hand side of this writing reads: "Treasure of imperial writing."

In his poem, the emperor laments the coming of old age:

How spring makes me sad!
Timidly I bear the passing of spring.
The young lady has no feeling for me,
She treats my love merely as that of a waning spring.

(Wen C. Fong, trans., in Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th-14th Century [New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992], p. 242.)

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 南宋 理宗 趙昀 行書 《長苦春來》 七絕詩 團扇
  • Title: Quatrain on Late Spring
  • Artist: Emperor Lizong (Chinese, 1205–64, r. 1224–64)
  • Period: Song dynasty (960–1279)
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 9 5/8 × 9 1/4 in. (24.4 × 23.5 cm)
  • Classification: Calligraphy
  • Credit Line: Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
  • Object Number: 1989.363.22
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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