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Parting at the Gate of the Capital

A work made of handscroll; ink and color on paper.
Public Domain

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  • A work made of handscroll; ink and color on paper.

Date:

Ming dynasty (1369–1644), 15th century

Artist:

Yao Shou (Chinese, 1423-1495)

About this artwork

This handscroll captures a goodbye. Along the riverbank, a boatman poised with paddle in hand stands tall in anticipation of launching. Nearby, scholars wearing black hats linger over their departure. Within the thatched pavilion, two servants diligently pack up the remains of a farewell party. In ancient China, a handscroll would be viewed by unrolling it in segments, one arm’s length at a time, from right to left. This handscroll would thus gradually reveal the travelers and the distant landscape, creating the effect of sending them off.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Asia

Artist

Yao Shou

Title

Parting at the Gate of the Capital

Place

China (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1423–1495

Medium

Handscroll; ink and color on paper

Inscriptions

Yinshou frontispiece by Wang Jin (15th century) Colophon by Ma Xian (1484 jinshi) Recorded in Lu Xinyuan, Rangliguan Guoyanlu (1892), vol. 13, p.13. Inscription: (tentative translation) Those who part at the capital gate are scholars, There is red pavilion wine, [they] contend for baixue song[name of old song] Evening mountains are boundless, spring trees are drooping, Thinking about friendship and joy we had, hope to meet again at Wucheng. (E.Park 1989)

Credit Line

Gift of Alice Boney

Reference Number

1971.475

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/36597/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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