- Provenance
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To 1911
Li Wenqing (circa 1869-1931), Shanghai to 1911 [1]From 1911 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in China, in 1911 [2]From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:
[1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 865, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.
[2] See note 1.
[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
- Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)
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Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Li Wenqing (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1869-1931
- Label
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In a deep pine ravine, by a rapid mountain stream, two men sit in conversation. The one facing us, a crutch beside him, is the Daoist immortal Li Tieguai. Kneeling in front of him is the pilgrim who has come into these deep mountains to "ask about the Dao," or Way of Life.
The Daoist narrative emphasizes strangeness, darkness, mystery, and the perilous. It tells us that life does not have easy answers--that the paths of life are seldom straight, that along the way there are many diversions, difficulties, and temptations. In contrast, the Confucian narrative of wise rulership emphasizes brightness, nobility, elegance, and expansiveness.
In the lower left corner there is a spurious signature and seal of the Southern Song (1127-1279) court painter, Liu Songnian (active 12th century), but this powerful expression of man's eternal quest for understanding should be associated with Yan Hui (active ca. 1300), a professional painter of Buddhist and Daoist subjects in the aftermath of the Mongol conquest of China in 1279.
To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.
- Collection Area(s)
- Chinese Art
- CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
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This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-8543_01