Chikanobu's Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety - The Chinese scholar Guo Jujing wrote the book "The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Devotion" during the Yuan Dynasty. Inspired by the loss of his own parents, he scoured history for examples of the most respectful and devoted children. Alluding to the famous stories of the twenty-four children and their extraordinary devotion to their parents and relatives, Chikanobu's series juxtaposes the paragon in the upper panel with a more modern equivalent below. The artist plays off the old stories, offering serious parallels as well as lighthearted and humorous contrasts in the modern versions.

No. 12, Yang Xiang: He Saved His Father from a Tiger - Charming image of a young boy with his hand on his pet cat, looking up with a concerned expression at his mother. A few books have tumbled to the floor in the next room, and perhaps he is afraid that the cat may be in trouble for causing the mess. The mother smiles sweetly down at him, though, as she adjusts a metal hairpin. The paragon in the inset above shows the boy Yang Xiang (Yoko in Japanese), who was with his father in the mountains when a tiger surprised them. The young boy threw himself in front of his father, saving his life and scaring away the animal. The tiger appears huge, snarling ferociously as Yang Xiang waves his arms to frighten it away, giving his father time to crawl to safety. The image appears on page 157 of Bruce A. Coats's recent book "Chikanobu: Images of Modernity and Nostalgia." A beautifully detailed print.

Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)

Image Size - 13 1/4" x 8 3/4" + margins as shown

Condition - With excellent color and detail as shown. Slight soiling. Most prints have a few small holes, repaired. Some prints have faint ink offsetting or a few creases. Please see photos for details. Generally in good to nice condition overall.