"Seventh Month" from the Odes of Bin (1200s): Art, History and Details

"Seventh Month" from the Odes of Bin (1200s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

According to Confucian thought, the ruler looks after the well-being of his people which involves agricultural activities. Seventh Month from the ancient Odes of Bin in the Shijing (Book of Poetry) describes occupations throughout the year, including plowing, harvesting, hunting, making clothes, and observing rituals. The earliest illustrations of these Odes accompanied by text were commissioned by Southern Song emperor Gaozong (reigned 1127–1162). As the lower Yangzi delta had become the new seat of government, Gaozong had sets of these illustrations produced by court artists to revive the dynasty and convince the Confucian officialelite of his legitimacy to rule.

Object facts

• Title: "Seventh Month" from the Odes of Bin
• Date: 1200s
• Culture: China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Image: 22.5 x 687.2 cm (8 7/8 x 270 9/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1980.187

A detail from the museum

The Odes of Bin appears in the classic Shijing (Book of Poetry), an anthology of more than 300 poems, folk songs, and ceremonial hymns that were originally chanted to music.

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Chen, Rentao 陳仁濤 [J.D. Chen]. Gu gong yi yi shu hua mu jiao zhu 故宮已佚書畫目校注. Hong Kong: Dongnan shu ju, 1956.
• Zhang Zhao 張照, ed. Mi dian zhulin shiqu baoji 秘殿珠林 石渠寶笈. Taipei: Guoli gugong bowuyuan 國立故宮博物院, 1745, Taipei reprint 1971.
• Lee, Sherman E., and Wai-kam Ho. The Nature and Significance of the Collection of Liang Ch'ing-Piao. Taipei, Taiwan: Chung-hua ming-kuo, 1981.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.