Drunken Monk
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The Tang Buddhist monk and calligrapher Huaisu (725–ca. 799), who often drank heavily to eliminate inhibitions before practicing calligraphy, composed the following poem in response to a painting of a drunken calligrapher-monk:
Everybody delivers wine,
It remains untouched.
All day amid the pines hangs a bottle.
The Cursive Script Sage goes mad as an inspiration comes.
All is captured in the “Drunken Monk.”
—Trans. Anita Chung
Fu Baoshi, who also sought uninhibited artistic liberation through wine, must have found this theme particularly appealing. His seal “Often after Becoming Drunk” is testament to his conviction that inebriation fostered spontaneous expression.
Everybody delivers wine,
It remains untouched.
All day amid the pines hangs a bottle.
The Cursive Script Sage goes mad as an inspiration comes.
All is captured in the “Drunken Monk.”
—Trans. Anita Chung
Fu Baoshi, who also sought uninhibited artistic liberation through wine, must have found this theme particularly appealing. His seal “Often after Becoming Drunk” is testament to his conviction that inebriation fostered spontaneous expression.
Artwork Details
- Title: Drunken Monk
- Artist: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965)
- Date: dated 1944
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 43 3/16 x 12 5/16 in. (109.7 x 31.2 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by Nanjing Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art