Poem on Plum
1700s–1800s
Medium
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
115 × 68.2 cm · painting only: 46 × 52.7 cm
Classification
Calligraphy
Department
Korean Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of The Honorable Joseph P. Carroll and Roberta Carroll, M.D.
Accession Number
1992.138
Tags
About this artwork
For Yi Hwang, a celebrated scholar and poet in 16th-century Korea, writing poems was an escape from partisan politics. Because its flowers often bloom in the middle of winter, Joseon period Korean scholars like Yi found plum blossoms a perfect subject to express the value of endurance and self-cultivation. In his numerous poems, Yi used plum blossom imagery to express his feelings. The poem on this hanging scroll reads: “Wishing to fly away, red leaves left the mountain villa. Their large sleeve...