A Prose-and-Painting Fan for Yuan Yong-Xi (Edna Yuan)
Artist
Huang Junbi
(Chinese, 1898 - 1991)
Artist
Ye Gongchuo
(Chinese, 1881 - 1968)
Date1955
MaterialsInk and color on gold-flecked paper
DimensionsH. 12 in x W. 18 in, H. 30.5 cm x W. 45.7 cm
Credit LineThe Yeh Family Collection
Object number2003.44
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on viewSignedInscription 1
Artist signature and date: 永熹侄媳拂暑。綽。
Seal: 朱文方印(印文不清)。
Inscription 2
Seal: “黃君璧印”白文方印。
InscribedInscription 1: 書法釋文:能知足者天不能負，能忍辱者天不能禍，能無求者天不能賤，能外形骸者天不能病，能不貪生者天不能死，能随遇而安者天不能困，能造就人才者天不能孤，能以任天下後世者天不能絕。(身)
Inscription 2: 永熹嫂夫人雅賞。乙未秋日畫於白雲堂，黃君璧。
More InformationThe famous calligrapher and collector Ye Gongchuo (1881–1968) first wrote prose on a folding fan as a moral persuasion to Yuan Yongxi (1910–1995), his nephew Gongchao’s wife. It was written sometime before 1948, when the couple left the mainland for Taiwan. Because Gongchuo chose to stay in Beijing, the family was separated from then on. In 1955, Gongchao invited the artist Huang to paint a landscape on the reverse side of this fan. This scene depicts a man fishing alone on the water, while white clouds float around the mountaintops. This is possibly a reference to Gongchao’s uncle, who remained on the isolated mainland under the Communist regime.
