Li Jian 1747-1799

(1) with one seal, li jian; (2) with one seal, wu bai shan feng zhang; (3) with one seal, shi ding; (4) with one seal, jian; (5) with one seal, er qiao; (6) with one seal, li jian zhi yin; (7) signed Jian'min, with one seal, li jian; (8) with one seal, li jian; (9) with one seal, bai hua cun fu zi; (10) signed Er'qiao Li Jian, dated gengzi (1780) of the Qianlong reign, the first lunar month, with one seal, li jian

This Single Feather of Auspicious Light: Old Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, Vol. III, London: Sydney L. Moss Ltd., 2010, pl. 79, pp. 976-991

Artist's inscription:
(1) Passing the village of Dongtou, we sensed that there would soon be a great rainfall.  Alongside the road we found a bamboo pavilion with an extraordinarily fine view.  Here we sat to wait out the rain, although eventually it increased in intensity.
(2) From Echo Gully we crossed to Buddha Hollow, entering deeply into a region without kitchen fires (i.e., uninhabited) to a distance of over thirty li (over ten miles).  The entire mountain was cold and still, and there were no birds at all.  But suddenly, a mountain rooster crowed from beyond the tips of the trees.  Tracing the sound, we came upon some sulao growing. Thus we could see that this was the very spot where Zhichuan gave a banquet for the assembled immortals.
(3) Pressing on through the rain, we reached White Crane Shrine.  We sat in the Pavilion for Cleansing the Mind, looking out at the Pool of Five Dragons.  A waterfall came thundering down the cliff, dashing against the rocks, mingling loudly with the sound of the rainfall.  Our clothes and our faces were totally soaked. As we emerged from the side of this mountain, mists covered all the mountains and valleys, and we could see nothing at all in all four directions.
(4) From White Wave Mountain we forded Luoyang Stream by piling stones right in the water. There was a rock called The Rock Where The Xuanyuan Daoist Practiced Swordsmanship.
(5) From of old people have said that Lingnan has no frost or snow, or any red foliage. But the high places of the Luofu Mountains are hidden and cold, and frost, snow and red foliage all can be found there.  It is not necessarily springtime all year round.
(6) Of 'Lotus Whiskers' (a kind of medicinal herb) we plucked forth specimens of three thousand types of 'White Heads'.  The five hundred varieties of 'White Heads' said to be found from Qin to Qi could not surpass this number !  We were delighted to encounter this scene.
(7) Tall peaks - four hundred and thirty-two of them! And each peak should have its own 'Thatched Hut' built thereon! After Dongpo visited here, the mountain flowers grew cold: All he could do was sing for long 'The Ode of Homecoming'. - Having returned from the Luofu Mountains, I improvised this quatrain orally.
(8) Peaks changing form; trees hanging shadows.All alone, through the deserted mountains I walk, crossing the ridge. As rain now stops, and mists have formed - accumulated haze -The sky grinds out some brilliancy, and I see the brightness there! A distant view of the Luofu Mountains, floating scars of green,Verdant emerald, perfect together, the pair of matched peaks.I wish to penetrate the mysterious road far, far into the distance,But rivers upon rivers, mountains upon mountains - the road is much too hard.The road so hard, but stones could make a bridge:The huge mountains split apart, where green mud flows along! One breath of Heaven's wind, is that too much for us to get? It could make the way all straight and square, so I could follow the stream.But the stream sounds thunderously in my ears, the falls drop into stone tarns:The water's nature will not change from east unto the west. And so I must sink to descend the mountain, seen off like a guest; Together with my body and shadow; alas, how very sad! If there were only an iron bridge to cross. For seeking Immortals then I could avoid being dazzled by flowers! After I leave the mountain, again I'd return to the mountain, And along those streams I'd wash my herbs, and cut them into portions! And come again, I would leave nevermore.
After the rain cleared, I crossed the ridge and for the first time actually got a view of the two main peaks of the Luofu Mountains. I then cut down for several li, along the muddiness of a stepping-stone pathway.
(9) Watching the Waterfall at Yellow Dragon Grotto.
(10) Three Peaks of the Upper Realm.