Listening to the Bamboo

Wen Zhengming

Cleveland Museum of Art

A vertical, rectangular piece of aged paper with a light beige color, featuring a drawing of bamboo at the bottom and calligraphy at the top. The calligraphy is written in black ink and fills most of the top half of the paper, with lines of text arranged in vertical columns. The drawing of bamboo at the bottom is rendered in black ink and appears to be a simple, elegant depiction of bamboo stalks and leaves. There are eight red seals scattered throughout the paper, four on the top half and four on the bottom half. The seals are square or circular and feature intricate designs and characters. The paper has a subtle texture and is surrounded by a thin, off-white border. The overall style of the piece suggests it is a traditional Chinese work of art, specifically a piece by Wen Zhengming titled "Listening to the Bamboo".