Wen Zhengming’s Wintry Trees: Mourning and Reciprocity | HENI Talks

Wintry Trees is a hanging scroll produced by Wen Zhengming at a time of personal loss. Craig Clunas explains some of its classic features and explores the work’s unusual inscription which raises as many questions as it answers.
Nothing is known about the first owner of Wintry Trees except his name and that he spent time with Wen Zhengming shortly after his bereavement. Was this mysterious visitor offering sincere condolences or was his gift-giving merely an attempt to exploit a culture of reciprocity?
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#WintryTrees #Scroll #HENITalks

[@ElizabethCharlie-gc7uw]

lovely presentation and the explanation is simple and make sense.

[@emmarosebarber4512]

I like the way it feels like a conversation. But it would be good to know where the work is and indeed where we might see other scrolls by this artist? Thank you.

[@HENITalks]

Thank you for your kind words, Emma! The scroll under discussion is in the British Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, also holds many examples of Wen Zhengming's work.

[@hchchchchchchcwwww1629]

I love it