Series; Juxtaposed Pictures of Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
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. 9, Ding Lan: He Carved Wooden Figures of His Parents to Serve Them, 1890 - Attractive scene of a beauty in an interior holding onto a lamp as a strong breeze blows through the open doorway. She looks back over her shoulder with a smile as the wind blows a few wisps of hair across her face and flutters her kimono sleeves. A carved wooden statue rests on a red lacquer stand in the niche at right, and an insect cage filled with glowing fireflies sits on the porch. The inset above shows the story of Ding Lan (Tei Ran in Japanese), who was orphaned at a young age. To honor his parents, he carved statues of them and cared for them as if they were alive. While he has gone one day, his wife pricked one of the figures with a needle, and to her surprise, the statue started bleeding and tears filled its eyes. When Ding Lan returned home and discovered what she had done, he divorced her. A handsome design.
Artist - Chikanobu (1838 - 1912)
Image Size - 13 3/4" x 9 1/4"
Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Backed with paper. Some faint soiling. A couple faint stains. Good overall.
