The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 22, 2025

Bodhidharma Crossing the Yangzi on a Reed

1300s
(1271-1368)
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Painting only: 91.1 x 36.5 cm (35 7/8 x 14 3/8 in.); Overall: 175 x 38.5 cm (68 7/8 x 15 3/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 175 x 43 cm (68 7/8 x 16 15/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1964.44
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Barefooted Bodhidharma sails across the Yangzi River balanced on a thin stalk of reed.

Description

Chan Buddhism was introduced to China in the early 500s by the Indian monk Bodhidharma, or Puti Damo (died before 534). Upon his arrival in China, Bodhidharma was allegedly granted an audience with the Liang dynasty emperor Wu (reigned 502–49). Realizing the emperor did not understand his mission, the monk left Nanjing, crossed the Yangzi on a reed, and settled north in Henan province’s Shaolin monastery. Here, Bodhidharma is sketched in few pale brushstrokes. The diluted and swift lines on an empty ground emphasize the Chan idea that all things are illusionary.

The inscription reads: Wind rises from the reed flowers, the waves are high; It’s a long way to go beyond the cliff of the Shaoshi mountain; Above the worlds of kalpas a flower is opening into five petals; So that your barefoot heels are just fine for the whipping rattans. —translated by Wai-Kam Ho
  • Okazaki Masaya 岡崎正也 [late 1800s-early 1900s], Tokyo, Japan
    Yamamoto Yoshiaki 山本義章 [early 1900s], Tokyo, Japan
    Fujī Noriyoshi 藤井德義 [1900s], Osaka, Japan
    ?-1964
    (N. V. Hammer, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1964-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Yonezawa, "Dharma," Kokka, no. 827 (February 1961), pp. 79-80. Reproduced: pp. 79-80, pl. 8
    Lee, Sherman E. Tea Taste in Japanese Art. New York: distributed by H. Abrams, 1963. Mentioned: cat. no. 3, p. 94; Mentioned: cat. no. 3, p. 17
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 261 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yüan Dynasty, 1279-1368. [Cleveland, OH]: The Cleveland Museum of Art; [distributed by the Press of Case Western Reserve University], 1968. cat. no. 209
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 261 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman Emery, and James Robinson. The Colors of Ink: Chinese Paintings and Related Ceramics from the Cleveland Museum of Art. New York: Asia Society; distributed by New York Graphic Society, 1974. cat. no. 24
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 346 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: cat. no. 99, p. 124
    Tōyō kaiga no seika: tokubetsuten: Kurīvurando Bijutsukan no korekushon kara [東洋絵画の精華 : 特别展 : クリーヴラント美術館のコレクションから = Highlights of Asian painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art]. Japan: Nara National Museum, 1998. Reproduced: p. 48, cat. no. 25
    Zhang, Hongxing, Lizhong Ling, Masaaki Itakura, Charles Q. Mason, Shane McCausland, Camille Schmitt, and Clarissa von Spee, and Roderick Whitfield. Masterpieces of Chinese Painting, 700-1900. London: V&A Publishing, 2013. Reproduced: cat. no. 50, pp. 226-227
    Chou, Ju-hsi and Anita Chung. Silent poetry: Chinese paintings from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2015. Reproduced: pp. 114-116
  • China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Greeting the Spring (Chinese art rotation, galleries 240a, 239, 241c). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 13, 2017).
    Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700 - 1900. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (October 26, 2013-January 19, 2014).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 119). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 29, 2003-March 15, 2004).
    Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998).
    Suibokuga: Japanese Ink Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 1, 1985-February 24, 1986).
    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).
    茶の美術 : 特別展 (Art of the Tea Ceremony). Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (organizer) (October 7-November 24, 1980).
    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).
    Year in Review (1964). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1964-January 31, 1965).
    Tea taste in Japanese art. Asia House Gallery, New York, NY (1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Bodhidharma Crossing the Yangzi on a Reed|url=false|author=|year=1300s|access-date=22 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.44