元 張羽材 霖雨圖 卷|Beneficent Rain
early 14th century
Medium
Handscroll; ink on silk
Dimensions
Image: 10 9/16 x 107 in. (26.8 x 271.8 cm) Overall with mounting: 11 in. x 24 ft. 11 13/16 in. (27.9 x 753.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Douglas Dillon, 1985
Accession Number
1985.227.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 14th century, China's Yuan dynasty (12711368), artist Zhang Yucai created *Beneficent Rain*, a masterful handscroll painted in ink on silk. This format, measuring over 24 feet when fully mounted, invites viewers to unroll it slowly, revealing an unfolding narrative much like reading a story. Handscrolls were prized in literati culture for their intimacy and portability, allowing contemplation in private settings. The title evokes *lin yu*, or prolonged, life-giving rain, symbolized here by majestic dragons—auspicious creatures in Chinese cosmology who summon storms to nourish the...