明 佚名 舊傳夏珪 長江萬里圖 卷 (前半) |First half of Ten Thousand Li of the Yangzi River

The handscroll known as the first half of Ten Thousand Li of the Yangzi River is attributed to an anonymous Chinese painter active during the Ming dynasty. Based on available records, the work was created in 1483. Although the piece is traditionally associated with the Song dynasty master Xia Gui, current scholarship identifies the artist as unknown.

The painting, executed in ink and color on silk, depicts a vast landscape featuring mountains. It is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work's creation history reflects the Ming era practice of producing landscape scrolls, though the specific commission or original patron remains unrecorded in the provided sources.

The first half of Ten Thousand Li of the Yangzi River is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. It is recorded under accession number 1987.230.1 in the museum’s holdings. The work has not been documented in any publicly listed exhibition history according to available sources.

The work, dated 1483 and executed as a handscroll in ink and color on silk, exemplifies the anonymous landscape tradition of late Ming China. As recorded in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s catalogue, the painting belongs to the genre of landscape painting and portrays a mountainous scene, reflecting the visual language of Chinese ink scenery. Scholars interpret its authorship as representative of the unnamed masters who contributed to the development of landscape painting in the period, situating the piece within the broader trajectory of Chinese artistic production.

Its presence in the Met’s collection has encouraged detailed iconographic and contextual studies that link the work to contemporary discussions of anonymity and stylistic continuity in East Asian art.

This handscroll, titled First half of Ten Thousand Li of the Yangzi River, is an ink and color painting on silk. Created by an unidentified artist during the Ming dynasty, it depicts an expansive landscape centered around a long, winding river. The artwork captures a significant portion of the Chinese natural environment, characterized by numerous mountains and waterways, conveying a sense of tranquility and vastness.