Bamboo and poem

early 17th century

Not on view

Zhu Lu was an impoverished scholar from Suzhou who devoted himself to bamboo painting and poetry. This folding fan combines the two into an elegant composition: a wispy tendril of young bamboo reaches in from the right side, pointing toward the artist’s poem, which reads, in part:

New branches, half newly grown green sheaves;
Jade feeling, how richly shaped and carved!
I linger, come to hidden blue-green colors;
Here all suits my heart, nothing is at odds.
—Translation by Jonathan Chaves

Artwork Details

明　朱鷺　墨竹詩畫　摺扇
Title: Bamboo and poem
Artist: Zhu Lu (Chinese, 1553–1632)
Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Date: early 17th century
Culture: China
Medium: Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on gold-flecked paper
Dimensions: 6 5/8 x 20 5/8 in. (16.8 x 52.4 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
Object Number: 1989.363.95
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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