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Writing Books under the Pine Trees
by Wang Meng 王蒙
About the Artwork
Wang Meng, born into a distinguished family in Wuxing (modern Huzhou), Zhejiang province, was the maternal grandson of Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322). Aside from intermittent political commitments under the foreign Mongol and Ming governments, Wang dedicated most of his life to retirement, as conveyed in this painting. By the 1360s, when the Red Turbans began to rebel against the Yuan dynasty leaders, and the Mongols gradually lost control over Jiangnan, Wang Meng withdrew into the mountains north of Hangzhou, calling himself Woodcutter of Yellow Crane Mountain. In the early years of the Ming dynasty, Wang was caught up in a purge and died in prison.
Inscriptions
Artist's inscription, signature, and seal: Many years and months passed by the locked gate Behind which the scholar has been immersed in writing his books; While the pine trees he had planted Have all grown up with old dragon scales. The Yellow Crane Mountain Woodcutter [Huang-ho-shan-ch'iao] painted this for Chen-su [the hao of Ts'ao Chih-po]. [seal] Wang Meng yin. (Translation by Wai-Kam Ho, 1080); 2 additional seals: 1 of Ts'ao Chih-po (1271–1355); 1 unidentified.
Provenance
1964–1997: Mr. A. Dean and Mrs. Helen Wade Greene Perry [1911–1996], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1997–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-November 24, 1968). Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981). Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994). China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Wang Meng (Chinese, c. 1308–1385)
- Date
- c. 1308–85
- Medium
- Album leaf; ink and color on paper
- Dimensions
- Painting: 39.8 x 56.9 cm (15 11/16 x 22 3/8 in.); Overall: 67.6 x 71.4 cm (26 5/8 x 28 1/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
- Accession no.
- 1997.94
More by Wang Meng 王蒙 in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009534
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