Chinese Landscape after Huang Gongwang

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

This monumental painting combines a variety of imagery associated with the prevailing idea of eremitism: the state of being a hermit and seclusion from society. One popular pattern associated with eremitism is known as “reclusion in a fishing boat.” In early Chinese literary tradition, the archetypal character of the recluse often reflected great wisdom but appeared as a humble man. Fishermen were often described in literature as wise recluses, who took the guise of a humble man. This idea inspired a type of composition called yuyin , sometimes translated into English as “fisherman-recluse” or “reclusion in a fishing boat.” The gentlemen shown sailing off along a mountain stream in this painting are certainly not fishermen but rather recluses. China, Asia