The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei

c. 1256

Ma Lin

(Chinese, c. 1185–after 1260)
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Album leaf; ink on silk
Image: 25.1 x 25.3 cm (9 7/8 x 9 15/16 in.); with mat: 33.3 x 40.5 cm (13 1/8 x 15 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1961.421.1
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Ma Lin was the son of Ma Yuan, the artist renowned for his unique composition and often referred to as "One-corner Ma."

Description

Poem and painting, once mounted together as one fan, exemplify the collaboration between imperial patron and court painter. Emperor Lizong’s calligraphy cites a verse from Wang Wei’s (701–761) poem, Walking to where the water ends, I sit and watch when clouds arise.

Ma Lin’s response is this painting. At the water’s edge, a scholar reclines by a large rock. The view leads across the empty middle ground to a distant mountain. With sparse ink and subtly graded washes, Ma Lin visualizes the poetic verse. The painting suggests the impact of Chan aesthetics through interaction between the palace, literati-officials, and monasteries around Hangzhou.
  • ?–1961
    (Nagatani, Inc., Chicago, IL, sold the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1961–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. Tea Taste in Japanese Art. New York, NY: The Asia House Gallery, dist. by H. Abrams, 1963. Mentioned: cat. no. 1, p. 94; Reproduced: cat. no. 1, p. 13
    Lee, Sherman E. and Wai-Kam Ho. "Scattered Pearls beyond the Ocean." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 51, No. 2 (Feb., 1964), pp. 23–39. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 31, cat. no. 6 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 259 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 259 archive.org
    Wang, Chi-chʻien. Album Leaves from the Sung and Yuan Dynasties: [Exhibition], March 26 Through May 30, 1970. New York: The Gallery [China House Gallery], 1970. Reproduced: cat. no.35
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 342 archive.org
    Ho, Wai-kam, Sherman E. Lee, Laurence Sickman, and Marc F. Wilson. Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1980. Reproduced: pp. 72-73, cat. no. 57
    Harrist, Robert E. Jr. "'Watching Clouds Rise': A Tang Dynasty Couplet and Its Illustration in Song Painting." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Vol. 78, No. 7 (Nov., 1991), pp. 301–323. Reproduced: p. 302, fig. 2 www.jstor.org
    Cahill, James. The Lyric Journey: Poetic Painting in China and Japan. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Univ. Press, 1996. Reproduced: p. 30, no. 1.23
    Murck, Alfreda. Poetry and Painting in Song China: The Subtle Art of Dissent. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2000. Reproduced: p. 200, fig. 46
    Li, Huishu. Exquisite Moments: West Lake & Southern Song Art. New York, NY: China Institute Gallery, China Institute: Distributed by Art Media Resources, Ltd., 2001. Reproduced: pp. 104-105, cat. no. 23
    Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa Von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 176–177, no. 58
  • China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Power and Possession: Chinese Calligraphy and Inscribed Objects – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 13, 2018-February 3, 2019).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art; Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 120); July 22 - October 26, 2003.
    West Lake and the Mapping of Southern Song Art. China Institute in America, New York, NY (organizer) (September 13-December 9, 2001).
    Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992).
    Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982).
    Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981: Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, cat. no. 57, p. 72.
    The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974).
    Wang Chi-ch'ien, Album Leaves from the Sung and Yuan Dynasties. China House Gallery (organizer) (March 26-May 30, 1970).
    Tea Taste in Japanese Art. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (February 20-April 21, 1963).
    Asia House Gallery, New York, 1963: Lee, Tea Taste, cat. no. 1.
    Year in Review - 1962. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24-November 25, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Scholar Reclining and Watching Rising Clouds, Poem by Wang Wei|url=false|author=Ma Lin|year=c. 1256|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1961.421.1