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After Mao Zedong’s Poem “Swimming”

Fu Baoshi Chinese
dated 1958
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
On May 31, 1956, Mao Zedong swam across the Yangzi River from Wuchang to Hankou. He ventured across the river many other times, finding in it the inspiration for “a great plan.” As laid out in his poem “Swimming” of June 1956, he wanted to tame the Yangzi with human structures. Fu must have seen a newspaper photograph of Mao swimming in the river and borrowed the composition for this painting.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: After Mao Zedong’s Poem “Swimming”
  • Artist: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904–1965)
  • Date: dated 1958
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Album leaf; ink on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 14 3/16 x 19 11/16 in. (36 x 50 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Lent by Nanjing Museum
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art