Beauties and Heroes: Legends and Stories in Chinese Art
(from 21st Jan until 15th Jul 2012)Explore paintings, prints and papercuts depicting legendary figures from Chinese folklore.
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Man and boy watching a crane
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Description
The man holding a feather fan (left) refers to the Northern Song dynasty scholar and poet Lin Bu (AD 967-1028), also known as Lin Hejing. Unlike other scholars, Lin Bu refused civil duties but spent his life as a recluse by the West Lake in Hangzhou. He never married but enjoyed living among plum trees and cranes, claiming the plum blossoms were his wife, and the cranes his sons. The boy behind Lin (right) is his servant, who would set the cranes flying to signal Lin when his friends came to visit, since he spent much of his time on the lake. The artist Min Zhen, also known as Min Zhengzhai or Min Aizi, was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi province and is best known for his figure painting.
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Details
- Associated place
- Date
- mid - late 18th century
- Artist/maker
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Min Zhen (1730 - after 1788) (artist)
- Associated people
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Lin Bu (AD 967 - 1028) (subject)
- Material and technique
- ink on paper
- Dimensions
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mount 83.9 x 50.8 cm (height x width)
painting 79 x 49 cm (height x width)
- Material index
- Technique index
- Object type index
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Purchased, 1964.
- Accession no.
- EA1964.83
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Further reading
Vainker, Shelagh, Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2000), no. 102 on p. 118, illus. p. 118 fig. 102
Past Exhibition
see (1)
Location
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- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
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Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Min Zhen was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi province but lived mostly in Hankou, Hubei. He was orphaned at an early age and it is said that the indifferent quality of his family's ancestral portraits prompted him to apply himself particularly keenly to studying painting. He was also a skilled seal carver.
Notice
Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
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