AN INSCRIBED WOOD ‘SCHOLAR AND QIN’ BRUSHPOT QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD, DATED TO THE YICHOU YEAR (IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1745)

formed from a hollowed-out trunk, the uneven curves on the exterior deftly carved in relief with a seated scholar playing the qin beneath an overhanging pine tree in a rocky landscape, incised with a poem by Chen Jiru in running script and dated to the 15th day of the 7th month of the yichou year of the Qianlong period, corresponding to 1745, concluding with the inscription Moyun zhuren shi ('recorded in appreciation by the Master of Ink Clouds') followed by an incised seal impression reading yunmu ('toneful wood'), affixed to a wood base

Notable for its vibrant and naturalistic modelling in the form of a tree trunk, this brushpot is inscribed with the poem entitled ‘Listening to a Zither’, by the Ming scholar Chen Jiru (1558-1639), which is recorded in Meigong shichao [Drafts of poetry by Master Mei], in Siku jinhui shu congkan [Banned books from the complete library of the Four Treasures], Beijing, 1997, vol. 67. The poem can be translated as follows:

As old trees murmur chaya, sound filling the mountain ravine,
A zither is plucked beneath a tree moonlight cold and clear.
Sometimes when the playing reaches a truly sad part,
Here at this ancient battleground crickets join in with song.

The poem is followed by the signature Moyun zhuren Shi ('recorded in appreciation by the Master of Ink Clouds') and the seal yunmu ('toneful wood'), both unrecorded. As Chen Jiru’s poetry was banned during the Qianlong reign, it is possible that the carver has chosen to omit details that may associate this brushpot with a particular scholar in order to avoid being persecuted for using banned poetry.