明 丁雲鵬 潯陽送客圖 軸|Song of the Lute

Ding Yunpeng

1585 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

On a chilly autumn evening in 816 CE, the poet Bai Juyi was seeing a friend off at a ferry stop when he heard the sound of a lute drifting across the water. Following the music, he came to a boat from which an aging courtesan issued her mournful song across the darkening river. Moved by the melancholy dignity of the scene, Bai wrote “Song of the Lute” in honor of the courtesan. In this rendering of the famous poem, the only indication of night is the candle between Bai and his friend as they sit in their boat, transfixed by the beauty of the music.

Artist

Ding Yunpeng

Date

1585

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913