Celebrating the Year of the Ox

Painted with an elegant palette of colours, the work is succinctly outlined with fine gossamer lines, which gives a sense of antiquity while highlighting the sturdy and rock-steady silhouette of the ox. 

The brothers Ju Chao and Ju Lian specialised in capturing the subtleties and spirit of animals in their paintings, which is perfectly reflected in the present example.

The work was inspired by the six-screen painting Herdboy by Hōshō Hikida (1878–1934), which was awarded the Third Prize in the Third Art Exhibition held by the Japanese Ministry of Education in 1909 and published in the exhibition catalogue.

Gao Qifeng added on to the original work by inserting background elements next to the recumbent buffalos, such as reeds at the riverbank ...

The alterations introduced drama to the work— the calm hugeness of the cattle contrasts with the gliding slenderness of the bird, while the buffalo looking afar has his eyes coincidentally on the kingfisher.

The piece, designated for export to the Japanese market, was produced by a private kiln in Jingdezhen in the late Ming dynasty. It is decorated with patterns of cows, rocks and trunks in underglaze cobalt blue, and overglazed with elements such as huts, grass, and leaves. However, the two layers do not seem to be on the same surface and look as if they were painted rather spontaneously. 

The illustration on the ware features two cows— the calf rubbing against the rock, and the larger one bowing his head to express concern. This corresponds to the Chinese idiom, “a cow dotes on her calf”, which describes deep parental love and is based on the conversation between Father Yang and Cao Cao after the latter killed Yang Xiu in the Biography of Yang Xiu, the Book of the Later Han.

Also produced in Jingdezhen for the Japanese market in the late Ming dynasty, the dish features the buffalo-riding Laozi, dressed in green, with a ruyi-scepter in his hand. 

In some pictorial representations, Laozi departs on a luxurious bullock carriage attended by servants. In Late Ming paintings and prints, nevertheless, it was more common for Laozi to be on the buffalo on his own, showing his sense of ease and freedom. The motif gained the connotation of longevity in the Song dynasty and has been used to express birthday blessings.

Zisha wares are not limited to teapots but also include archaic collectibles and exquisite items for the scholar’s desk. Meanwhile, archaic elements and scholarly aesthetics also influence teapot design.

The oxhead-shaped spout and collar design of the present example show inspiration from ancient animal-shaped vessel while the tall looped handle and the rounded body might be derived from ancient wine/water vessels. A synthesis of the various styles of antiquities, the piece demonstrates the potter’s comprehension and reinvention of tradition.

Bullock cart can be dated prior to the Qin dynasty. According to the treatise “Travel and Dress” in the Book of Jin, it was not a means of transportation for the nobility until it was adopted by the feudal lords whose power was weakened by the Han Emperor of Wu. From the Wei and Jin dynasties to the prime of the Tang dynasty, bullock carts became increasingly well-furnished and popular among aristocratic families.

The piece features a rear door for easy boarding while a curtain can be hanged on the front for shading. Making reference to unearthed pieces, there might be a small back rest inside the spacious compartment originally. The ride can be so comfortable that the scholar-officials of Liang dynasty were said to have always commuted on carriages and within the suburbs, there was no horse-riding man in sight.

The mid-Tang dynasty saw the downfall of aristocracy, and bullock carts once again regressed from the luxurious carriages admired by nobles to the loading tools used by laymen. Until today, these carts can still be seen in rural areas.

In 1946, Li Keren was invited by Xu Beihong to join the National Art School in Beiping. There, he met Qi Baishi and had been studying art with him for a decade since then. During the period, Qi Baishi inscribed many of Li Keren’s paintings on cattle herding, showing his love for such works. 

This piece, for example, illustrates two buffalos swimming cross the water. One was wading away on its own, making the shepherd boy shout anxiously. 

On the other side of the painting, the willow bending over the river expresses the liveliness of spring.

Su Renshan gave up the pursuit of an official career at a young age and made a living as a private tutor or as an advisor. He frequently travelled between Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. This piece is his commentary on the Guizhou natives’ practice of casting iron cows to pray for peace and stability. 

The work is comprised of a hundred cattle playing by the river on the outskirts of the village. 

 98 buffalos, 2 cows ...

... and 33 shepherd boys were portrayed with different postures without repetition. 

Historically, there had been varied interpretations on the motif. Some said it is a metaphor for benevolent rule and a peaceful society, others believed it contrasts the difficult career in officialdom with the happy roaming cattle, which symbolizes the freedom of returning to the countryside. In Zen Buddhism, the cattle is even used as a metaphor for the mind. 

The taming and shepherding of cattle was likened to the cultivation of mind and the finding of the Way. Zen Master Puming’s “Ode to Ten Bulls”, which had been circulated since the Ming dynasty, divided ox-herding into stages such as “undisciplined”, “beginning to be disciplined”, "in harness”, “faced round”, and “tamed” to describe the process of self-cultivation of the mind.