明 王鏊 行書詩 扇頁|Poem on Growing Old

Wang Ao

Date unknown · Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on gold-patterned paper · Asian Art

The poem on this fan reads: Regretfully, the work you gave me comes too late, For no old tree can gain its youth again. Alchemic mercury, crucible burned, has the science of long life, Yet, in the mirror, my white hair already looks its age. Features I’ve had all along, forget me now; In the end, to whom belongs the passing of time? Just as no one sees the lashes before his eyes, So do men renowned in later times lean on those who have gone before. —Translation by Marc F. Wilson and Kwan S. Song

Artist

Wang Ao

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on gold-patterned paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988