Ink bamboo
Tang Yin Chinese
Not on view
A branch of bamboo stretches across this handscroll, its dangling leaves framing a poem inscribed by the artist. The verse reveals that the scene was observed by moonlight after the artist had awoken from a tipsy nap:
The moon sinks low in the fourth watch, paper windows seem empty,
Stirring from a drunken sleep, I prop my head and read awhile,
Lofty thoughts—I force myself, but can’t help it;
Ten stalks, still green in winter, cast profuse shadows.
—Translation after Marc F. Wilson and Kwan S. Wong
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