Scenic Beauty Along Rivers and Mountains

The inscription suggests that, by aligning oneself with nature, a person could expect to live a quiet life of peace and tranquility, a sought-after goal during the political and social chaos of the early seventeenth century. It reads, in part: Surrounded by ten-thousand miles of water is white cloud village, amidst the flowers is built a grass hut; Evening lotus are reflected in clear pools, like-minded friends face one another on verandas… I have a spirit that soars beyond this mundane world, You possess the prescription for immortality. The river-side mountains are green without end, and often seem to float in an endless expanse. On a summer day in the year 1614, I entrusted (my ideas) to the brush at the Northern Suburb Mountain Cottage. —Bian Wenyu