Discussing the Dao in the shade of pines 松陰論道圖
date: label: Date
content: 14th century
label: Period
content: Yuan or Ming dynasty
name: label: Artist
content: Follower of Yan Hui 顏輝 (late 13th-early 14th century)
label: Artist
content: Formerly attributed to Liu Songnian (傳)劉松年 (ca. 1150-after 1225)
notes: label: Label
content: 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.
label: Label
content: 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.
label: Label
content: 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.
label: Label
content: To learn more about this and similar objects, visit http://www.asia.si.edu/SongYuan/default.asp Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy.
label: Provenance
content: To 1911
label: Provenance
content: Li Wenqing (circa 1869-1931), Shanghai to 1911 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1911 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Li Wenqing, in China, in 1911 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [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.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [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.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Style in Chinese Landscape Painting: The Yuan Legacy (November 22, 2014 to May 31, 2015)
label: Exhibition History
content: In Human Form: Images of the Secular and Divine in Chinese Painting (January 31, 1996 to January 7, 1997)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Li Wenqing 李文卿 (ca. 1869-1931) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: landscape
label: Topic
content: Daoism
label: Topic
content: pine tree
label: Topic
content: Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: mountain
label: Topic
content: waterfall
label: Topic
content: river
label: Topic
content: teaching
label: Topic
content: Daoist Immortals
label: Topic
content: Li Tiegnai
label: Topic
content: China
label: Topic
content: Chinese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: Related Online Resources
content: Song and Yuan Dynasty Painting and Calligraphy
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1911.295
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 142.5 x 77.5 cm (56 1/8 x 30 1/2 in)