Simsajeong Pil Chokjandogwon

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.1986

Category

Painting

Era

1768년(영조 44)

Designated year

2018

Location

성북구, 서울특별시— 서울특별시 성북구 성북로 102-11 (성북동, 간송미술관)

Coordinates

No precise coordinates are available, so this item is not shown as a map marker. To be added later.

The Scroll of the Difficulties of the Shu Road (Chokjandogwon) is a massive handscroll painting depicting the difficult journey undertaken by a traveler along the road to the ancient Chinese state of Shu, as sung in Difficulties on the Road to Shu (Shudaonan), a poem by the great Tang poet Li Bai. The painting was completed by Sim Sa-jeong (pen-name: Hyeonjae, 1707-1769), one of the greatest literati painters of Korea in the eighteenth century, in August 1768, one year before his death. The postscript, written by Sim Rae-yeong (1759-1826), one of the artist’s relatives, on a separate sheet of paper and attached to the handscroll shows that the painting was created at the request of Sim’s father and uncle, Sim Yu-jin (1723-1787) and Sim I-jin (1723-1768), who wished to preserve it as a family treasure. Sim Sa-jeong depicted the road to Shu, dominated by rugged rocky peaks of grotesque shapes and steep cliffs, using elaborate brushstrokes, a wide variety of different color tones, and complex composition. The imposing appearance of the soaring mountain peaks, weirdly-shaped rocks, and seemingly fathomless valleys represent not only the menacing force of nature but also the majestic beauty of the road’s natural surroundings. Sim Sa-jeong exploited all the techniques he had learned to master throughout his career to create this panoramic view on an eight-meter-long handscroll, creating one of the greatest masterpieces of traditional East Asian landscape painting.