Leisure Enough to Spare

Also known as: The Scholar's Leisure; Leisure Enough to Spare 有餘閒圖

About the Artwork

Seclusion and leisure—the ideals of the literati, or scholar-gentlemen—are expressed in this mature work by Yao Tingmei. The theme acquired special meaning at a time of the military uprisings near the end of the Yuan dynasty. Dedicated to an ascetic named Du, this work combines painting, calligraphy, and poetry; following the painting are more than 20 poems and essays written by notable scholars, one of whom was the calligrapher Yang Weizhen. It reveals not only the aesthetic taste of the literati but also the practice of contributing artistic and literary works to fulfill social obligations. Yao's painting demonstrates his individual style derived from various ancient masters (Guo Xi, Dong Yuan, and Juran). Yang Weizhen's calligraphy exhibits his bold, vigorous style and his intent to capture the spirit of antiquity in art.

Inscriptions

至正廿年春正月_日作此併系鄙語于尾地偏人遠閉柴關，滿院松陰白晝閒。眼底風塵渾忘却，坐看流水臥看山。吳興姚廷美畫; 23 colophons and 53 seals (dates unavailable for some): 1 colophon, dated 1360, and 2 seals of Yang Weizhen (1296–1370); 1 colophon and 3 seals of Wan Yi; 1 colophon of Zhang Junde; 1 colophon and 3 seals of Angji (act. c. mid-1300s); 1 colophon and 1 seal of Xu Shiquan; 1 colophon and 3 seals of Gao Yu; 1 colophon and 2 seals of Li Mingfu; 1 colophon and 2 seals of Lu Lin; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Zhang Qian; 1 colophon of Tao Tangwen; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Wu Yuangui (act. c. 1300–60); 1 colophon of Bao Jiong; 1 colophon of Wang Zao; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Ma Chuyi; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Lin Yizhuang; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Gu Shunju; 1 colophon and 2 seals of Wang Jing; 1 colophon and 2 seals of Lin Shouchang; 1 colophon and 1 seal of Gao Zhidao; 1 colophon of Lin Xun; 1 colophon, dated 1359, and 2 seals of Meng Weicheng (act. mid-14th c.); 1 colophon and 1 seal of Meng Zhiji (act. mid-1300s); 14 seals of Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 (1620–1691); 1 poem dated 1755 and 5 seals of the Qianlong 乾隆 emperor (r. 1736–95); 2 seals of the Jiaqing 嘉慶 emperor (r. 1796–1821); 3 seals of the Xuantong 宣統 emperor (r. 1909–11).; Colophon by Yang Weizhen, "An Essay on Leisure to Spare": Master Ouyang [Ouyang Xiu, 1007–1072] says in one of his poems, "To have good company is such a joy. It provides the rare excuse to steal away leisure from one's life." Now, if leisure could be acquired only by stealing, this certainly could not be said to be abundant enough to spare. In the poetry of Su Dongpo [1036–1101] he says, "It is indeed not bad to be able to secure leisure because of illness." Now if leisure should have been obtained from an illness that is against one's wish, this again could not be said to be abundant enough to spare. How vulgar is the poem by a man of late Sung who talks about buying plenty of farm and homestead land in preparation for the coming days of leisure. Now, if leisure has to depend on the extensive holding of real estate, this is precisely the kind of thing which will jeopardize one's leisure. Indeed, one will never have enough leisure that way, let alone enough to spare. In Qinglong by the Song River, there is a hermit, Mr. Tu. Inside, he has fine children to take care of his household. Under him, he has diligent servants to engage in production. Outside, he has wise relatives and friends to watch out and guard him. Thus he has been able to live peacefully, and to eat heartily, and to pass his time in rest and play. Surely his leisure was not stolen from the few moments when he has company. It was not derived from illness. It was not jeopardized by extensive holdings of real estate. Could anyone question my word if I said this is truly abundant enough to spare? Mr. Tu asked a common friend, Zhang Mengchen, to come to me for an essay. I herewith composed this for him as above. At the same time, others who are well versed in poetry have written poems as in the following. Dong wei zi wrote this on the first day of the second month of the gengzi year [1360]. By "Dong wei" I mean the jinshi graduate from the examination in the dingmao year of Taiding [1327], with the present rank of Feng xun dai fu, and in the office of Commissioner of Schools for the Jiangxi and other provinces, whose name is Yang Weizhen.; Title on frontispiece by Zhang Bi 章弼: Signed Gongchen 拱辰

Provenance

Liang Qingbiao 梁清標 [1620–1691] 1736?–c. 1911: Qing imperial collection (seals of Emperors Qianlong, r. 1736–1795, Jiaqing, r. 1796–1820, and Xuantong, r. 1909–1911) Zhang Heng 張珩 [1915–1963] ?–1954: (Frank Caro [1904–1980], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1954–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Chinese Landscape Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954). Arts of China. Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT (organizer) (October 30-December 4, 1955). Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956). The Scholar in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 19-28, 1968). Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-November 24, 1968). 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). Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982). Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992). Highlights of Asian Paintings from The Cleveland Museum of Art. Nara National Museum (organizer) (February 21-March 29, 1998); Suntory Museum of Art (April 28-June 21, 1998). Streams and Mountains Without End: Asian Art and the Legacy of Sherman E. Lee at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 27-August 23, 2009).

Quick Overview

Artist: Yao Tingmei (Chinese, active mid-1300s)
Date: 1360
Medium: handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 23.1 x 84 cm (9 1/8 x 33 1/16 in.); Overall: 23.8 x 734 cm (9 3/8 x 289 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 1954.791

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-00009599