River and Mountains on a Clear Autumn Day

Dong Qichang painted this to look like an older artist’s work—he even wrote that the earlier painter would have liked it.

You see a long scroll of ink on paper: soft gray mountains, a winding river, and tiny trees in autumn red.

Dong Qichang painted this to look like an older artist’s work—he even wrote that the earlier painter would have liked it. The shapes are simple, almost like calligraphy, but they still feel like real hills and water.

If you want to see how Chinese artists borrowed from each other, look up china, ming dynasty (1368–1644).

River and Mountains on a Clear Autumn Day is a painting by Dong Qichang, a influential artist and writer who shaped the aesthetics of later generations.