Village Schoolroom, from the album Figures in Settings
Artist/Maker
Zhāng Hóng 张宏 / 張宏
(Chinese, 1577–1668)
Date1649
MediumAlbum leaf, ink and color on silk
DimensionsImage: 11 1/4 × 8 in. (28.6 × 20.3 cm)
Mount: 14 5/8 × 9 9/16 in. (37.1 × 24.3 cm)
Mount: 14 5/8 × 9 9/16 in. (37.1 × 24.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Carol S. Brooks in honor of her father, George J. Schlenker, and R. T. Miller Jr. Fund
PortfolioFigures in Settings
Object number1997.29.14E
Status
Not on viewTitle inscription: 村塾圖
In Zhāng Hóng’s humorous take on a humble village schoolroom, a shabbily dressed teacher points to a line in a book, helping one student follow the text. Another boy reads the text aloud, kneeling on the ground as punishment for some misdeed. Next to him a smaller, pantsless boy stands ready with a stick to penalize any reading mistakes. Another boy, at the right in a blue robe, is secretly looking at another book, and has toys hidden behind books on the shelf under his desk. A woman sits just outside the schoolroom counting on her fingers, an empty basket next to her, suggesting that she has just sold her goods at the village market.
In imperial China, passing the grueling civil service examinations and receiving a position in the government bureaucracy was the surest route to wealth and status. Therefore, any family that could afford it had a son educated to prepare for the exams. This would have been a familiar scene to Zhāng Hóng’s elite scholarly clientele, its comical character enhanced by placing the figures in a lowly village setting.
ProvenanceDr. George J. Schlenker, Piedmont, California ¹ ² ³; by descent to Carol S. Brooks, Alameda, CA ⁴; by partial gift and purchase 1997 to Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH
Notes:
[1] Identifying the two collector's seals will help to determine prior history
[2] Selected and purchased by James Cahill, Professor of Art History, University of California, Berkeley, on behalf of his step-father George J. Schlenker
[3] Stored at the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, where it was exhibited and used as a teaching aid by Professor James Cahill
[4] Daughter of George J. SchlenkerExhibition History
In Zhāng Hóng’s humorous take on a humble village schoolroom, a shabbily dressed teacher points to a line in a book, helping one student follow the text. Another boy reads the text aloud, kneeling on the ground as punishment for some misdeed. Next to him a smaller, pantsless boy stands ready with a stick to penalize any reading mistakes. Another boy, at the right in a blue robe, is secretly looking at another book, and has toys hidden behind books on the shelf under his desk. A woman sits just outside the schoolroom counting on her fingers, an empty basket next to her, suggesting that she has just sold her goods at the village market.
In imperial China, passing the grueling civil service examinations and receiving a position in the government bureaucracy was the surest route to wealth and status. Therefore, any family that could afford it had a son educated to prepare for the exams. This would have been a familiar scene to Zhāng Hóng’s elite scholarly clientele, its comical character enhanced by placing the figures in a lowly village setting.
A Century of Asian Art at Oberlin: Chinese Paintings
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (June 6, 2017 - December 10, 2017 )
Collections
- Asian
The AMAM continually researches its collection and updates its records with new findings.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.
