Zhi and Xu's Pure Conversation

Also known as: Chih and Hsü's Pure Conversation; Zhi and Xu’s Pure Conversation 支許清言圖

About the Artwork

Lan Ying’s painting is a gift to his friend, the Chan monk Wuyun, in which he depicted two sages of the Six Dynasties period: the Buddhist monk Zhidun (314–366 CE), and the Daoist priest Xu Xun (265–420 CE). Meant to be understood as an analogy of the friendship between artist and monk, the painting also offered a retreat into the past, a year before the fall of the Ming dynasty. A professional painter born in Hangzhou, Lan Ying is traditionally considered a last representative of the Zhe school. Lan wrote poetic inscriptions and interacted with the literatus Chen Jiru (1558–1639).

Inscriptions

六朝多奇人，寄隱玄與釋。/ 支遁許道士，情意合相適。/ 長松古巖下，高譚對終日。/ 大志擲流水，好句聯袂覓。/ 世事世之外，千秋我自識。五雲禪師道古行潔，與世無涉。喜山水，喜文墨。至老神逾王。余與方外交，遂作支許清言圖，乞為開示。蝶叟藍瑛癸未七月杪。; 2 additional seals of Cheng Qi 程琦 (1911–1988)

Provenance

Cheng Qi 程琦 [1911–1988], by descent to his son, Stephen O. K. Chen ?–1970: Stephen O. K. Chen [20th century], New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1970–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1970. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-March 7, 1971). The Colors of Ink. Asia House Galleries (January 10-March 3, 1974); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 9-May 12, 1974). Conversations: Past and Present in Asia and America. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (August 30-December 23, 2016). 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: Lan Ying (Chinese, 1585–after 1664)
Date: 1643
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: Painting: 141 x 56 cm (55 1/2 x 22 1/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 246 x 80 cm (96 7/8 x 31 1/2 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Gift of Stephen O. K. Chen
Accession no.: 1970.128

More by Lan Ying in museum collections

Clearing Autumn Mists in the Chu Mountains
Lan Ying
1600s · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00010061

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.