A tatar horseman coursing a hare

This small album leaf depicts, judging by its subject's costume, a non-Chinese hunter and his dog who have successfully brought down a hare. While the stylistic origin of the "trembling" brush line zhanbi, employed to depict the contours of the hunter's costume, can be traced to the Five Dynasties period (907-960), this small work is a much later reinterpretation of the style. Created by rhythmically altering pressure on the brush tip to produce lines of varying thickness, zhanbi is often used to convey a sense of motion or agitation. The album leaf bears a spurious seal of the famous Ming dynasty painter Qiu Ying (ca. 1494-1552), whose works are unrelated to this painting in either composition or style.