# Willow and Magpie

- By: Fachang Muqi (Chinese, 1220–1280)
- Date: mid-1200s
- Medium: hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Image: 60.4 x 30.9 cm (23 3/4 x 12 3/16 in.); Overall: 137.2 x 48.3 cm (54 x 19 in.)
- Culture: China, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
- Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1982.53)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1982.53/1982.53_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The Willow and Magpie is the product of a mindset that combines knowledgeable observation of birds in general and magpies in particular with an image-making process using a sophisticated ink technique to suggest the nature of the bird, the general characteristics of willow, and the visual effect of rain and mist. These are not trivial accomplishments but of equal importance with Southern Song period achievements in lyrical poetry or canal building.