The Studious Woodcutter Zhu Maichen
date: label: Date
content: 16th century
label: Period
content: Ming dynasty
name: label: Artist
content: Follower of Jiang Song (active late 15th-early 16th century)
label: Artist
content: Formerly attributed to Zhang Shunmin (active late 11th-early 12th century)
notes: label: School/Tradition
content: Zhe School
label: Label
content: The poor woodcutter Zhu Maichen loved classical literature. Every day he trudged to market carrying bundles of firewood on a shoulder pole while reciting favorite passages and poems. Zhu’s
label: Label
content: wife, who helped carry the sticks, was annoyed by his incessant chanting and frequently complained. He just continued more loudly, until one day she could not abide it any longer and asked
label: Label
content: for a divorce.
label: Label
content: Some years later, Zhu went to the capital and came to the attention of Emperor Wu, whom he impressed with his knowledge of ancient texts. Elevated to a succession of offices, he even returned to his old home as Grand Warden—much to the chagrin of his destitute former wife, who killed herself shortly afterward from despair. Recalling the hardships she had endured, Zhu assumed the cost of her funeral expenses.
label: Provenance
content: To 1916
label: Provenance
content: Pang Yuanji (1864-1949), Shanghai, China, to 1916 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1916 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Pang Yuanji, through Pang Zanchen (1881-1951) and Seaouke Yue (You Xiaoxi) (late 19th-early 20th century), in New York, in 1916 [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. 1133, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, P'ang Catalogue: Antique Famous Chinese Paintings Collected by P'ang Lai Ch'en, no. 35.
label: Provenance
content: [2] According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), pg. 23 and pg. 37, note 118.
label: Provenance
content: Larsen explains that Pang Zanchen (the younger brother of Pang Yuanji) and Seaouke Yue were tasked by Pang Yuanji with bringing his paintings to New York to show them to Charles Lang Freer. See also, Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 1133, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
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: Old Tales Retold: Narrative in Chinese Painting (April 20 to October 20, 2013)
label: Exhibition History
content: Work and Commerce: Everyday Life in Chinese Painting (June 19, 2004 to January 17, 2005)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Pang Yuanji 龐元濟 (1864-1949) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: China
topic: label: Topic
content: Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
label: Topic
content: work
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: 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: F1916.534
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Hanging scroll mounted on panel; ink on silk
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 158.7 x 97.6 cm (62 1/2 x 38 7/16 in)