13th century

Lady beneath Tall Bamboo

The image of the solitary lady is drawn from the final couplet of the poem "Jiaren" (Fair Lady), composed by the celebrated Tang poet Du Fu (712–770): "The weather is cold, her azure sleeves are thin, At twilight she rests by tall bamboo." The pale ink washes that make up the background of this painting indicate the approach of dusk, and the four tall, thin bamboo branches connecting the upper and lower edges of the painting provide the rest of the poem’s setting. In between a pierced Taihu rock and the tall bamboo is a plum tree with a profusion of white blossoms. Together with the camellias at the lower right, they indicate that the cold winter night is coming. The grouping of plum blossom, bamboo, and rock is called the Three Purities (san qing), echoing the character of the lady who is the embodiment of surpassing beauty.