Chinese War Scene, General Liu Yung-fu’s Defense of Taiwan Won a Victory over the Japanese with the Help of the Aborigines, 1895, unknown maker from China

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Chinese War Scene, General Liu Yung-fu’s Defense of Taiwan Won a Victory over the Japanese with the Help of the Aborigines, 1895
Chinese War Scene, General Liu Yung-fu’s Defense of Taiwan Won a Victory over the Japanese with the Help of the Aborigines, 1895
Chinese War Scene, General Liu Yung-fu’s Defense of Taiwan Won a Victory over the Japanese with the Help of the Aborigines, 1895
late 1800s, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Chinese War Scene, General Liu Yung-fu’s Defense of Taiwan Won a Victory over the Japanese with the Help of the Aborigines, 1895 , late 1800s, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Portfolio/Series title: 13 Chinese War Scenes
Where object was made: China
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 339 x 568 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 13 3/8 x 22 3/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 363 x 627 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 5/16 x 24 11/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 24 x 32 in
Credit line: Gift of Wu Ying
Accession number: 1977.0062.g
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: "The Art of Stories Told," Jun-2004, Veronica de Jong Lin Yongfu was a celebrated patriot-brigand of the Guangxi Triads who was depicted in numerous propaganda prints. In this instance, Liu won the support of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples to help fight Japanese invaders. According to the inscription, when the Japanese attacked Taiwan Liu pretended to withdraw by retreating thirty li (Chinese mile). The Japanse assumed victory and ascended a coastal bank to rejoice not knowing that troops lay waiting to ambush them. When the Chinese and native troops attacked they killed several thousand Japanese troops and Liu was proclaimed the greatest military leader under heaven. The designer of this print evidently struggled to convey the movements of the troops and the multiple sites of action. Liu's troops are lined up for battle in the center right of the print, and below them in the lower right are Japanese troops apparently ready for battle. On the left side of the dividing mountain are indigenous peoples with unkempt hair and little clothing. Above them is an awkwardly placed and scaled ship in the sea, and below them are Chinese soldiers with Japanese prisoners.