Thousand Hills Rivalling in Beauty Ten Thousand Streams Competing in Speed

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Images(2)

Thousand Hills Rivalling in Beauty Ten Thousand Streams Competing in Speed

Artist Wei Zhike (Chinese, active ca. 1620)

Date1624

DimensionsL: 270 1/2 in.; H: 7 11/16 in.

MediumHandscroll; colors on paper

ClassificationPaintings

Object number

1954.14

Not on View

Label TextAlso well-known as a poet, Wei Zhike specialized in scenes of Nanjing and the surrounding countryside along the Yangtze (or Cháng Ziāng) River. This scroll, which presents a meandering journey through rocky hills and farmland, was never intended to be seen all at once. Rather, a seated viewer unrolled it only an arm’s-length section at a time, viewing it from right to left. Looking at handscrolls was therefore an intimate and interactive experience—like looking through a book. Because each section of the scroll was revealed gradually, the act of exploring the painting incorporated a sense of discovery and anticipation.