In the Ming dynasty, the custom of officials using and writing on folding fans became increasingly common after the palace held activities for giving them to members at court. The folding fan, with its elegantly arched surface wider at the top than at the bottom, is a unique format that caught the attention of Ming painters and calligraphers, who used it as a vehicle for artistic expression. Folding fans with painting and calligraphy presented as gifts also became a trend among such Wu School and other famous literati in the art world as Shen Zhou (1427-1509), Zhu Yunming (1461-1527), Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), and Tang Yin (1470-1524), whose masterpieces in this format still survive.
Seven-Character Regulated Verse
- Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Ming dynasty
- Folding fan, ink on paper, 16.3 x 44.2 cm
Wen Zhengming, a native of Suzhou in Jiangsu, originally was named Bi. He took the style name Zhengming after the age of 42 and changed his style name to Zhengzhong; he also had the self-styled sobriquet Hengshan jushi.
This is a transcription of Wen's seven-character regulated verse on "Waiting for the Moon at Jinshan Temple." It reads, "The cool of jade emerges from Floating Jade Mountain, a listless moon is alight above the evening tide. An eerie glow hovers deep in the fish-dragon night, the trees wave in clouds of void to a hazy mist. In water-filled country I inscribe a poem for a night's stay, and I am offered a taste of new tea from Zhongling Spring. I cannot sleep after drinking wine in the river breeze, so I rise and walk the corridors of shady pines." Wen enjoyed the scenery while drinking tea and wine, presenting a poem as a gift to his friend for letting him stay the night. The characters in the calligraphy here are elongated and the line spacing tight, the brushwork strong and untrammeled. The recipient, "Yuhua," remains unknown, but the fan evidently was a gift in response to or exchange with Wen.
