Rocks -- Illustration from the Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Calligraphy and Painting (Shizhuzhai shuhua pu) before 1703

Curator: I see gentle giants resting, dreaming maybe, in this work, "Rocks," an illustration from the Ten Bamboo Studio Manual. Editor: These rocks! They ripple with a quiet strength—do you see the ancient stories they hold? Each line seems to echo centuries of weathering. Curator: Absolutely. The artist, Hu Zhengyan, who lived from 1584 to 1634, was a master of conveying symbolic weight. Rocks, in particular, represent permanence and the unyielding spirit of nature. Editor: And the plant life, tiny and tenacious, clinging to these stones... it's all a reminder of resilience. The manual itself was created to teach how to capture nature’s spirit through brushwork. Curator: Precisely! This image, now residing at the Harvard Art Museums, speaks to the enduring power of visual language, connecting us to generations past who found solace and inspiration in the natural world. Editor: It certainly makes you wonder what stories these quiet observers could tell if they could speak.