fan | Spencer Museum of Art

Zhang Mingqi

1875–1945

fan, 1922, Republic of China (1911–1949)

Where object was made: China

Material/technique: ink; paper; gold dust

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 20 x 20.8 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 201 x 62.8 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 7 7/8 x 8 3/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 79 1/8 x 24 3/4 in

Credit line: Gift of Helen Marcy Johnson and Arthur S. Johnson

Accession number: 1981.0229.c

Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Archive Label 2003: An inscription on the back of the mounting notes that a Lin Chuigong had these three works mounted together in 1927 "so as to cherish them." The worn fold marks on Chen Weishu's elegant vignette of songbird, bamboo, and chrysanthemums suggest that this fan had been well used before it was mounted as a hanging scroll. Zhou Weiping's striking hibiscus is painted in the "boneless" technique, where the edges of the objects are depicted without lines. Zhang Mingqi, governor of Canton 1910-1911, used formal, yet lively, brushwork to compose the short essay on fishing that is translated in the wall label at the left. When I, your subject, hold the fishing pole by the river, my mind is without rambling thoughts, and I only contemplate the fish. casting the fishing line, I let the hook sink, without moving my hands. I would not be disturbed by worldly phenomena. When fish see my bait, they mistake it for the sinking dust or congregating bubbles; so they swallow it without doubt. Thus I am able to overcome the powerful by subtle means, control the heavy through gentle movement. Mr. Lietang instructed me to paint this.