Fishermen after Jing Hao, Stacked Scroll (partial)

This image was created by slicing the image of the scroll and stacking the slices to provide a convenient view of the painted portion of the scroll.

Painted in monochrome (one color) ink, this painting highlights sixteen cartoonlike fishermen, many of whom are scholar-recluses, boating on a wide expanse of water. The eighteen-foot-long handscroll is dotted with fifteen small boats, each of which contains at least one of the fishermen napping, fishing, paddling, or enjoying the scenery. One boat is hidden behind a mountain. The painting unites the “three perfections”—poetry, calligraphy, and painting—which are interconnected modes of expression. The Chinese scholar class took special pleasure in works of art that integrated these three art forms.