Saying Farewell at Xunyang (Song of the Pipa)

潯陽送客圖 (琵琶行)

1500s

Wen Boren 文伯仁

(Chinese, 1502–1575)

Culture

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Medium

handscroll, ink and color on paper

Measurements

Overall: 27 x 271.3 cm (10 5/8 x 106 13/16 in.); Painting only: 21 x 60 cm (8 1/4 x 23 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1954.581

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Wen Boren depicted the chilly autumn water with a fishnet pattern.

Description

This handscroll depicts The Song of the Pipa, a poem by Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846) written after the poet’s encounter with a pipa player on the Yangzi River. Expelled from her home city when her beauty and fame had faded, she played for the poet at night. Her musical performance and tragic life story resonated with Bai Juyi, who had just been demoted and exiled from life at court himself. The hazy, vast view and pale color tonalities of this painting illustrate these feelings of endless sadness, having lost one’s sense of purpose in life.