Su Shi (So Shoku) and Pan Lang (Han Rō)
early 1600s
Medium
pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, light color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
172 × 374 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2006.135
Tags
About this artwork
This pair of screens depicts episodes from the stories of famed Song-dynasty poets Su Shi of the 1000s and Zhou-dynasty official Pan Lang of the 900s. Both men were banished by their rulers for their perceived missteps. Su Shi’s comments on a series of economic reforms were seen as criticism of the emperor. Pan Lang composed an ill-advised verse about one of the king’s horses. In the left screen Pan rides backward on his donkey as he returns from exile so that he may have a last look at his now ...