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A Hundred Birds and the Three Friends
by Bian Wenjin
About the Artwork
In this hanging scroll birds rest and frolic among pines, bamboo, and flowering plum, plants known as “the three friends.” Due to their endurance in winter, they symbolize perseverance and friendship in adverse times. The naturalistic depiction of the birds refers to the bird-and-flower painting tradition of the Art Academy of the Song dynasty. The painter Bian Wenjin served at the court of the Ming dynasty Yongle Emperor (reigned 1402–24). This painting may have been hung in a private studio or palace hall on appropriate occasions.
Inscriptions
Artist's three seals: Pien yin Ching-chao; Sha-yang shih-chia; Ch'in shu ch'ing-lo.
Exhibition history
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). Year in Review: 1980. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (June 24-July 19, 1981). Chinese Gallery 240a Rotation – August 2016. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 1, 2016-February 6, 2017). Layers of Meaning: China’s Flora and Fauna in Painting and on Porcelain. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2020-June 6, 2021).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Bian Wenjin (Chinese, about 1354–1428)
- Date
- 1400–1425
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions
- Painting: 153.5 x 95.4 cm (60 7/16 x 37 9/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 245 x 110 cm (96 7/16 x 43 5/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Chinese Art
- Credit line
- Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Accession no.
- 1980.12
Provenance
?–1980: (Kozo Yabumoto 藪本公三, Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1980–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
More by Bian Wenjin 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-00009911
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