Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Bo Ya Plays the Qin as Zhong Ziqi Listens

Circle of Kano Motonobu Japanese
1530s
Not on view
The Liezi, a fourth-century Daoist text, records the story of Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi, scholars renowned for their devotion to each other. Bo Ya, an accomplished player of the qin, a type of zither, would frequently play for his friend Zhong, himself a musician who truly appreciated his friend’s music. When Zhong died, however, the bereaved Bo Ya deliberately broke his instrument, never to play again.

Likely once part of a set of sliding-door panels (fusuma), this painting depicts Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi taking shelter from a storm beneath a cliff, where Bo Ya plays his qin to pass the time. The work bears no seal or signature but exemplifies the formal landscape style of the early Kano school and was traditionally attributed to the school’s founder, Motonobu. Discrepancies with Motonobu’s accepted style, however, suggest that the artist was active in Motonobu’s circle, probably during the 1530s.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 狩野元信周辺　伯牙鍾子期図
  • Title: Bo Ya Plays the Qin as Zhong Ziqi Listens
  • Artist: Circle of Kano Motonobu (Japanese, 1477–1559)
  • Period: Muromachi period (1392–1573)
  • Date: 1530s
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 65 1/16 × 34 1/4 in. (165.2 × 87 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 8 ft. 10 7/8 in. × 40 13/16 in. (271.5 × 103.7 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 8 ft. 10 7/8 in. × 43 3/16 in. (271.5 × 109.7 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.300.67
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Birds and Flowers, Kano Motonobu Japanese, Set of three hanging scrolls; ink and color on paper, Japan
Birds and Flowers
Traditionally attributed to Kano Motonobu
mid-16th century
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, Ni Zan Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu
Ni Zan
dated 1372
Street Show, Kano Motonobu Japanese, Color on paper, Japan
Street Show
Formerly attributed to Kano Motonobu
probably 17th century
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.