Sparse trees and pavilion  1399

Wang Meng painted and inscribed this fan for the poet Chen Ruzhi (1329–1385) about 1361, when Chen came to the Hangzhou area to escape rebel uprisings near his home in Lushan, Jiangsu Province. This intimate painting and poem portray Chen as Wang knew him—as a homeless refugee living in rustic seclusion near Wang's home at Yellow Crane Mountain. Wang's poem reads: [br] In...