Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This piece derives its shape from the ancient jade scepter known as gui. On both sides of the jade surfaces are the inscribed texts "Miscellaneous Five-Character Poems by the Jin Poet Tao Qian" engraved in minuscule characters, with a reference indicating that the piece was made by the jade workshop of the Xiuneisi Office in 1122 of the Xuanhe reign. This Northern Song attribution is, nevertheless, questionable.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
136411
label
Scepter (Gui) with Miscellaneous Poems by Tao Qian (365–427 CE)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
136411
contentType
object
title
Scepter (Gui) with Miscellaneous Poems by Tao Qian (365–427 CE)
description
This piece derives its shape from the ancient jade scepter known as gui. On both sides of the jade surfaces are the inscribed texts "Miscellaneous Five-Character Poems by the Jin Poet Tao Qian" engraved in minuscule characters, with a reference indicating that the piece was made by the jade workshop of the Xiuneisi Office in 1122 of the Xuanhe reign. This Northern Song attribution is, nevertheless, questionable.
date
1122 or later
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80030331
genreSpecific
Jade
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 2.8 x 0.3 cm (1 1/8 x 1/8 in.)
cul
China, Possibly Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong period (1736-1795)
accession
1960.278
Source extras
tec
translucent white jade
tombstone
Scepter (Gui) with Miscellaneous Poems by Tao Qian (365–427 CE), 1122 or later. China, Possibly Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong period (1736-1795). Translucent white jade; overall: 2.8 x 0.3 cm (1 1/8 x 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. John Lyon Collyer in memory of her mother, Mrs. G. M. G. Forman, 1960.278
collection
China - Song Dynasty
inscriptions
inscription
"Respectfully made by the jade works of the palace work bureau, on an auspicious day in the twelfth month of the winter, in the third year of Xuanhe of the Imperial Song (Dynasty)" (1121).
On the front and back of the knife are engraved, in minute characters with double contour lines, eight complete poems entitled "Miscellaneous Thoughts" by Tao Yuanming (365–427 CE), one of the greatest early poets of China. Here are two examples:
The bright sun sinks beyond the western ridge,/
The white moon rises behind the eastern range./
Afar, afar a myriad miles it flashes,/
Immeasurably vast its light amidst the sky./
A wind comes and enters the bedroom door,/
So in the night pillow-and mat are cold./
The air seems different- - I awake to the season's change./
I cannot go to sleep and know the night's eternity,/
I wish to speak but there is no friend to talk to./
Raising my cup I challenge my lonely shadow./
The days and months fling us aside and pass;/
We have high purposes but cannot realize them./
Thinking of this I have grief and pain at heart,/
And all night long can find no quietness./
It is hard to dwell long in prosperity;/
Rise and decline cannot be reckoned on./
What were formerly lotus buds in May,/
Now in the autumn are but withered seed-pods./
A heavy frost stiffens the prairie grasses- - /
They wilt despondently and do not quickly die.-/
The sun and moon come ever circling back./
Once we depart we do not shine again./
I ponder deeply on times long past and gone/
Though to remember them tears my very entrails.
sortorder
1
citations
citation
Watt, James C. Y. <em>Chinese Jades from Han to Chʻing</em>. New York: Asia Society, in association with J. Weatherhill, 1980.
citation
Riddell, Sheila. <em>Dated Chinese Antiquities, 600-1650</em>. London: Faber and Faber, 1979.
page_number
p. 169, cat. 141
creditline
Gift of Mrs. John Lyon Collyer in memory of her mother, Mrs. G. M. G. Forman
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:57:45.794000
sourceId
136411
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Song Dynasty
med
translucent white jade
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e8ffa67920f00df0