The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers

Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers

1736–95
(1644–1911), Qianlong reign (1736–95)
Handscroll, silk: tapestry weave; ink and colors; silk: embroidery
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1915.618.a
Location: not on view

Description

This handscroll features a map illustrating the Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers (Jing qing Wei zhuo tu) and a report by the statesman Dong Gao (1704–1818), preceded by an imperial commentary. The entire handscroll is woven in silk; while the calligraphy section on the right side is woven into the fabric, the Chinese characters on the map are all embroidered. The map shows the clear (blue) river Jing in the north joining the muddy (yellow) river Wei in the west and flowing into the large Yellow River in the northeast. The roofs of houses and sections of the city wall in the lower part of the map indicate the city of Xi’an, a former imperial capital in Shaanxi province located near the site where the terracotta soldiers of China’s first emperor were found in modern times.

The management and control of the empire’s vast network of waterways, dams, and irrigation systems was an important task for China’s rulers. Flood prevention was essential, for when the Yellow River overflowed it caused disastrous deluges and destroyed farmland and settlements. Here the Qianlong emperor had requested an on-site investigation of the Jing and Wei rivers in order to rectify historic written sources that confused the Jing and Wei rivers.

In addition to the Cleveland tapestry scroll, an identical tapestry version is preserved in the Palace Museum in Taipei and a rubbing version on paper is preserved in the National Library in Beijing.
  • ?-1915
    John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1915-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme and Charles Crehore Cunningham. 2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving: A Loan Exhibition: Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Dec. 7, 1951 to Jan. 27, 1952; the Baltimore Museum of Art, Feb. 27, 1952 to Mar. 25, 1952. Hartford, CT: Wardsworth Atheneum, 1951. p. 5, cat. no. 143
    Spee, Clarissa von. "From the Silk Road to the Imperial Court: Chinese Textiles in the Cleveland Museum of Art." Arts of Asia 48, no. 3 (May-June 2018): 50–56. Reproduced: p. 55, fig. 10
    Von Spee, Clarissa. "Clear and Muddy Water: Rediscovering a Chinese imperial tapestry scroll.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 58, no. 3 (May/June 2018): 14-15. Reproduced: P. 14, 15; Mentioned: P. 14-15.
  • The Splendor of Chinese Silk – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 5-August 12, 2018).
    Arts of China from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Mansfield, OH (February 27-April 10, 1983).
    K'o-ssu: Chinese Silk Tapestry. China House Gallery, New York City, NY (organizer) (March 24-May 27, 1971).
    2000 Years of Tapestry Weaving. Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT (December 7, 1951-January 27, 1952; Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (February 27-March 25, 1952).
  • {{cite web|title=Mingling of Clear and Muddy Water at the Junction of the Jing and Wei Rivers|url=false|author=|year=1736–95|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.618.a