painting proper 1 of 13
detail of seal preceding inscription 2 of 13
overall with mounting 3 of 13
inscription, signature, and seals 4 of 13
detail of seals following inscription and signature 5 of 13
detail of seal at lower left (above pair of square seals) 6 of 13
detail of seals in lower left corner 7 of 13
detail of seal in lower right corner Identification and Creation Object Number 8 of 13
1964.94 People Zhu Da (also known as Bada Shanren), Chinese (1626-1706) Title Moon and Melon Classification Paintings with Calligraphy Work Type painting with calligraphy, album folio Date 1689 Places Creation Place: East Asia, China Period Qing dynasty, 1644-1911 Culture Chinese Physical Descriptions Medium Hanging scroll: ink on paper; with signature reading "Bada Shanren" Dimensions painting proper: H. 73.6 x W. 45.1 cm (29 x 17 3/4 in.) 9 of 13
mounting, including cord and roller ends: H. 209.6 x W. 65.4 cm (82 1/2 x 25 3/4 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: Bada Shanren State, Edition, Standard Reference Number Standard Reference Number A 10-019 (Suzuki Kei) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Earl Morse, Harvard Law School, Class of 1930 Accession Year 1964 Object Number 1964.94 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Descriptions Description Zhu Da, better known as Bada Shanren, was born into the Yiyang branch of the Ming imperial family in 1626, in Nanchang, Jiangxi province. His work ineradicably changed the course of the history of Chinese painting 10 of 13
more than almost any other artist. Despite this impact and his high birth, little is known of his life and even less of his motivations. It is almost certain that most of his family was killed during the dynastic wars at the end of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Zhu Da himself chose sanctuary in Buddhist monasteries, where he remained until the late 1670s. The Buddhist life allowed a person of his capacities tremendous freedom during the seventeenth century. He was able to pursue a quiet life of Buddhist teaching, poetry, and painting and calligraphy. Loyal to the Ming until his death, he refused to serve or even to acknowledge the Qing (1644-1911). The poem on this painting translates: A Ming cake seen from one side, The moon, so round when the melons rise. Everyone points to the mooncakes, But hope that the melons will ripen is a fool's dream. Translation by Richard M. Barnhart During the insurrection that brought about the downfall of the Mongol rule of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) in the fourteenth century, moon cakes were carried by the rebels as recognizable signs of their political allegiance. Although that earlier rebellion succeeded, Zhu Da seems to imply that no uprising against the Manchu Qing has a hope of success. Recent research has shown that the melon was also apparently a symbol of loyalty to the preceding dynasty and that, because of its many seeds, the melon was an embodiment of royal lineage. 11 of 13
Publication History Wang Fangyu, "On the Poems of Chu Ta", National Palace Museum Quarterly, National Palace Museum, Taipei (Taipei, Taiwan, 1976), XI, No. 1, pp. 39-62, pp. 51-54, figs. 10a and 10b Suzuki Kei, Chugoku kaiga sogo zuroku, Amerika Kanada hen (Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Paintings, Volume 1: American and Canadian Collections), University of Tokyo Press (Tokyo, Japan, 1982), pp. I-55 and I-432, no. A 10-019 Wang Fangyu and Richard M. Barnhart, Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705), exh. cat., Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven, Conn., 1990), pp. 104-106, fig. 52 (Cat. 8) Jane Myers, "Independent Creations: Kuniyoshi's Ink Drawings of 1921-25", exh. cat., Amon Carter Museum (Fort Worth, Texas, 1996), Fig. 35 / page 57 Stephan Wolohojian, ed., Harvard Art Museum/ Handbook, Harvard Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 2008), p. 106 Claudia Brown, Great Qing: Painting in China, 1644-1911, University of Washington Press (Seattle and London, 2014), pp. 29-30, fig. 1.26 Dorinda Neave, Lara Blanchard, and Marika Sardar, Asian Art, Pearson Education, Inc. (Boston, MA, 2015), p. 216, ill. 9-28 Exhibition History Chinese Painting and Decorative Arts from the Permanent Collection, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/17/1991-01/26/1992 Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 11/03/1995-06/09/1996 A Compelling Legacy: Masterworks of East Asian Painting, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. 12 of 13
Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 08/24/2004-03/20/2005 China in Twelve Artworks, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/23/2016-05/08/2016 Subjects and Contexts Collection Highlights Google Art Project This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Generated on October 5, 2016 at 10:54pm 13 of 13