Colophon on Fan for Painting

Colophon on Fan for Painting, 1942, Republic of China (1911–1949)

Where object was made: China

Material/technique: ink; paper; color

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 17.8 x 50.2 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 7 1/2 x 19 3/4 in
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 138.5 cm

Credit line: Museum purchase: Gift of Mrs. Floyd T. Amsden

Accession number: 1982.0101.a

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
“From the Way of Writing to the Weight of Writing," Jun-2007, Ai-lian Liu
Now mounted as hanging scrolls and displayed in museum galleries, folding fans were once part of the daily life of the literati class. Folding fans were an elegant accessory for gentlemen in summer time, and the painting and calligraphy on fans demonstrated their good taste in art. The portable format also makes a perfect medium for social exchanges among literati artists. They were often made during literary gatherings or as gifts for like-minded friends. Collaborative works by different artists can often be found in folding-fan format. This fan, for example, was made by Shang Yanliu and Huang Junbi, both from Guangzhou, as a gift for a certain “Mr. Daoyu.” In it we steal a glimpse into the elegant social customs among the literati, which were lingering still in the early half of the 20th century.

Exhibition Label:
"Images of the Journey," Jun-2005, Hillary Pedersen
Both of these works are dedicated to Tao Lu, and it is likely that he had these two sides of a fan mounted together on this hanging scroll. Little is known about the calligrapher Shang Yanliu. Huang Junbi was from Guangdong (Canton) and studied painting in the Western style in his youth. Later, he became interested in traditional wenren (scholar-amateur) painting. In 1948, Huang moved to Taiwan and became one of the leading artists there. He had a significant influence on the development of painting in Taiwan and is still recognized today as a great master. Here, he has depicted the traditional wenren theme of a scholar viewing a waterfall. The text by Shang Yanliu is a reminiscence of poetry traditions of the past, from ancient folk songs to poetry composed by prominent writers of the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE).

Archive Label 2003:
Both of these works are dedicated to Tao Lu, and it is likely that he had them mounted together on this hanging scroll. Because of the wear and the soiled diagonal lines where the fans' ribs would have been, it appears that the paintings may have been used as fans before being remounted in a hanging scroll format.
Little is known about the calligrapher Shang Yanliu. Huang Junbi was from Guangdong (Canton) and studied painting in the Western style in his youth. Later, he became interested in traditional wenren (scholar-amateur) painting. In 1948, Huang moved to Taiwan and became one of the leading artists there. He had had a significant influence on the development of painting in Taiwan and is still recognized today as a great master. Here, he has depicted the traditional wenren theme of a scholar viewing a waterfall.