Yang Pu Moving His Family

This detail of a scroll painting depicts a village scholar (at left ) bidding farewell to his friends while transporting his family across a narrow river. Distinguished by his official government cap with its long streamers, he is accompanied by servants who valiantly attempt to carry his children and the family’s belongings, which include scrolls, animals, and dishes. The rustic figure shown here may represent Yang Pu, a character who appears in twelfth- and thirteenth-century stories. As described in this folklore, Yang initially declined, and then reluctantly accepted, his appointment to a government position in the capital. In an attempt to prevent sectionalism and corruption, Chinese law forbade civil officials from working in their native districts, and many were required to move to distant cities. Given China’s vastness, it was unlikely that these men, once transferred, would ever see their friends again. Such partings were frequent and often somber occasions and a favorite theme of poets and painters. The twigs that protrude from the official caps of the men depicted here may allude to the ancient Chinese custom of presenting departing friends with small branches from a willow tree. In this painting, however, the “noble parting” theme has been reinterpreted with a lively combination of realism and caricature.