In a show called The Heart of Zen, “Six Persimmons” was displayed for three short weeks in late 2023 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. It was “painted with ink on paper in the 13th century, probably by a Chinese monk named Muqi, as part of a handscroll that also included ‘Chestnuts’…”
In China, where ink paintings were valued for their order and precision, Muqi and his lumpy fruit went quickly out of style. But in Japan, with its taste for asymmetry and ambiguity, his work sparked a whole school of followers.
… The persimmons’ stems, six crisp, T-shaped handles into the here and now that remind us that the really Zen way to look at a painting is simply to look at it.
… The flesh of the persimmons looks to be made from spontaneous puddles of watery ink, rough-edged puddles that capture with precision the very imprecision of human sight. It’s an approach to painting that Europeans reached only 600 years later, if then.
Will Heinrich concludes that “the point of all the simplicity, or minimalism, associated with Zen isn’t really to make anything simple. It’s to…,” but never mind. Isn’t Zen about not looking for a point?
(Will Heinrich, “A Rare Appearance for ‘Six Persimmons,’ a 13th-Century Masterpiece,” New York Times, 11-24-23)
(c) 2024 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
Lucky you that you were able to see this magnificent masterpiece in nature! I posted an article on my blog a while ago in which I went into more detail about this picture. Now through this exhibition I am getting a lot of views.
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Yes, I enjoyed your post Zettl.
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Me too.
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Well done, Mr. Zettl. I read your blog with great profit. The snippet I noted reminded me of you. All things Zen lead me to your door. I often lard my own commentary, such as it is, with a bit of tongue-in-cheek. A failing I strive to control! Best regards.
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Oh, tongue-in-cheek is one of the basic elements of Zen. One of the reasons why I like Zen so much. The 6 khaki figs also have a wink in them. Of course, as always, you can interpret the picture in different ways. And yet I think my interpretation is a good one. Not only because Zen has accompanied me for 50 years and I studied Chinese painting, I often try to express my understanding of Zen in my pictures. How far I succeed is another question 🙂 All the best!
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I’m glad to know of the tongue-in-cheek facet of Zen! Perhaps there’s hope for me to progress. Keep up the good work, Mr. Zettl. Kind regards. (PS: There are translations of a Chinese poet who goes by the name Bei Dao in the latest edition of Poetry magazine. Do you know him? The Chinese texts are printed opposite the English renderings. I must say that, even with my experience of studying Arabic, I contemplate the Chinese script with utter amazement. The magazine is at http://www.poetryfoundation.org if you care to give it a look.)
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Thank you! Yes, Bei Dao is one of the great modern writers and I have read texts by him. Unfortunately, my time doesn’t allow me to follow the literary events as I would like. But whenever I come across a book of modern Chinese literature, I am thrilled. One could easily think that it is because of my fundamental interest in Chinese culture. But I think there are other reasons and maybe I should write an article about it sometime.
And when it comes to the Chinese character, since you are familiar with Arabic, your eyes are more open than many who are only at home in the Western alphabet.
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I was influenced in college days by anthropologist Benjamin Whorf, who said everyone should try to study an “exotic” language, i.e., one outside their native tongue’s family. In his case it was the Hopi language.
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Yes, I think so too! Or at least a music instrument. Hopi! How great! I studied anthropology as a minor and thus got to know the Hopi more closely – but without having learned the language.
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I love the picture! Great to see it again and the comments!
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Thank you, OA. I’m always pleased to get your input.
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Wonderful! I love this picture. I must admit though, and it’s very irreverent of me I know, but they do remind me of curling stones. Now I’ve thought of that, I’m trying to banish it from my mind – the picture doesn’t deserve that.
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An excellent association! I see what you mean. It’s not at all irreverent. In other comment Mr. Zettl has said that tongue-in-cheek is an essential quality of Zen. You enrich and ennoble the picture with your insight! 🙂 Thanks for the great comment.
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