handscroll; calligraphy; painting BM-1910-0212-0.574

Period:Unknown Production date:16C-18C
Materials:silk
Technique:painted
Subjects:calligraphy garden
Dimensions:Height: 29.50 centimetres (painting) Length: 121 centimetres (Scenes 1 and 4) Length: 109.50 centimetres (Scenes 2 and 3) Length: 98.50 centimetres (colophons) Length: 171.50 centimetres (palindromes)

Description:
Handscroll. A group of wordplays followed by four garden scenes with figures and buildings. Two colophons at the end. Ink and colour on silk.
IMG


Comments:Palindromes of Su Ruolan. Palindromes at beginning, followed by four scenes; followed by story.”Su Ruolan was a 4th century woman, both wise and beautiful. She married a Mr. Dou when she was 16, but he loved another. He went to live with the other. Sad Su Ruolan wove palindromes into silk: 800 characters, with 3700 words and phrases. But no one else could read them. She told a servant to take the silks to her husband. He was able to read them, realized how smart she was and that he loved her, and came home bearing many gifts. They lived happily ever after.In the Song dynasty, there was a woman called Zhu Suzhen read and translated the palindromes. Zhao Mengfu’s wife wrote them out at the beginning of the scroll, and Qiu Ying painted it to illustrate the story.” (neither of these is true).The colophon explaining all this was written by Peng Nian (active 1505-66) , a Suzhou scholar.