Zhao Mengfu Writing the Heart (Hridaya) Sutra in Exchange for Tea (1542–43): Art, History and Details

Zhao Mengfu Writing the Heart (Hridaya) Sutra in Exchange for Tea (1542–43) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Qiu Ying (Chinese, 1494–1552).

The work and its context

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

The Yuan dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322) is said to have transcribed the Heart Sutra for a certain priest named Li in exchange for tea. Later, during the Ming dynasty, the professional painter Qiu Ying from Suzhou painted this scene for his patron. Here, Zhao Mengfu holds a brush and has a piece of paper laid out before him. On the table is an ink stone, an ink stick, and a small water dropper. Drops of water would dissolve the ink stick into liquid ink when it was ground on the flat square stone.

Object facts

• Title: Zhao Mengfu Writing the Heart (Hridaya) Sutra in Exchange for Tea
• Date: 1542–43
• Creator attribution: Qiu Ying (Chinese, 1494–1552)
• Culture: China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: handscroll; ink and light color on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 20.6 x 78.3 cm (8 1/8 x 30 13/16 in.); Overall: 21.1 x 553.6 cm (8 5/16 x 217 15/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1963.102

A detail from the museum

Qiu Ying was born to a peasant family, but his natural talent led him to a successful career as a professional painter with wealthy patrons.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Dubosc, Jean Pierre, and Alberto Giuganino. Mostra D'arte Cinese : Catalogo = Exhibition of Chinese Art: Catalogue. Venezia: Alfieri Editore, 1954.
• Sirén, Osvald. Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles. New York: Ronald Press, 1956.
• Lee, Sherman E. "Literati and Professionals: Four Ming Painters." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art Vol. 53, No. 1 (January, 1966), pp. 2–25.

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.