“River and Sky in Evening Snow, ” from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Snow clings to the leaves of a clump of bamboo and rock. A snowy peak hangs in the distance. This wintry scene formerly functioned as one of eight panels of a folding screen, depicting the so-called “Eight Views of Xiao and Xiang, ” a popular theme in East Asian painting and poetry. At right is a Chinese poem brushed by the Zen monk Saishō Jōtai (1548-1608). The poem alludes to the Daoist immortal Han Xiangzi, who predicted correctly that his exiled uncle would become stuck at Indigo Pass, a crossing in the Qin Mountains of central China: Ten thousand miles of river and sky, ten thousand miles of thoughts, a whirlwind of downy flowers scattering in a peaceful grove— The bridges and roads are closed, and my horse’s hooves are slick. Yet again, Indigo Pass is blocked! This is an old poem by Yujian, brushed by Jōtai