A Gentleman Under Pine Tree

Here, a gentleman stands under a pine tree and is ready to inscribe or paint on a rock with the brush in his hand. This scene depicts a noted competition between a father and son from a family of calligraphers, the most famous in Chinese history. The father, Wang Xizhi (303–361), once inscribed a few lines on a wall after drinking wine. Believing his calligraphy was superb as well, the son, Xianzhi, secretly erased his father’s writing and added his own. A few days later, Wang Xizhi found the writing not looking very good, but he comforted himself and told people that his scribbles were the result of being drunk. Xianzhi was embarrassed and vowed to continue improving his skills, eventually accomplishing the same fame as his father.
 

The painting is possibly a self-portrait of Chang Dai-chien, a celebrated Chinese ink painter who sojourned in northern California for nearly a decade. Chang not only recounts the related story in his poetic inscription, but also brags that this painting is comparable to those of Madman Liang (Liang Kai, ca. 1140–1210), an eccentric Southern Song artist. Liang’s figure paintings are famous for sketch-style depictions in abbreviated and spontaneous brushwork. His art was particularly favored by Japanese monks and had a profound impact on Zen art in Japan.