Reminiscences of Qinhuai River, by Shitao, 1642–1707
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Reminiscences of Qinhuai River

Shitao (Chinese, 1642–1707)

1642–1707

Medium
Album leaf; ink and color on Song paper
Classification
Painting
Dimensions
Image: 25.5 x 20.2 cm (10 1/16 x 7 15/16 in.); Overall: 33 x 24.3 cm (13 x 9 9/16 in.)
Culture
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
Credit line
John L. Severance Fund
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed

View at the Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This album leaf was probably created in 1695 for a friend Shitao had traveled with to visit ancient sites along the Qinhuai River from the Six Dynasties period. A tiny figure in a boat looks up in awe toward rising mountain masses that form an overhanging cliff, perhaps an image for the overwhelming history of Nanjing.

Shitao was born two years before the Ming dynasty fell. A descendant of the first Ming emperor, he later lived in Nanjing, Yangzhou, and Anhui province. Despite his affiliation with the Ming imperial family, he met the Qing dynasty Kangxi emperor twice.