Autumn river in the rain and clouds

Formerly attributed to Xu Daoning (ca. 1000-after 1066) · 16th century

Thick mist and clouds obscure the high, upper slopes of the mountains, providing a wet, autumnal mood for this imaginary riverscape with its mixture of isolated peasant and scholar-recluse inhabitants. At right, a common fisherman huddles in his little boat among the reeds. On the far shore, a path leads from a hamlet of simple, well-built houses to a stone bridge over a stream. Where the stream emerges from a distant valley, a wood gatherer approaches on the narrow trail carrying two bundles of sticks on his shoulder pole. Another hiker materializes among the trees at the top of a lower pass. From his riverside pavilion, a lone scholar gazes over the water; across from him, a narrow waterfall plunges down a series of cascades and crashes onto the rocks below. On a small, flat island beneath the looming crags, a recluse-fisherman has left his fishing rod propped on a forked stick as he rows his boat across the water to meet a friend waiting on the opposite shore. While season and natural backdrop set a particular mood and context, this meeting of friends provides the painting with a focus of human interaction that directly engages the viewer's imagination.