print
- Museum number
- 1982,1217,0.55
- Title
- Object: Door Guard Zhao Gongming; 趙公明; Zhao Gongming
- Description
-
Woodblock print in ink and colours on paper.
- Production date
- 1900-1911
- Dimensions
-
Height: 42 centimetres (Royal mount)
-
Width: 25.40 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- In popular-print tradition, door guards often derive from stories and novels. Zhao Gongming is usually paired with the Daoist Master of the Burning Lamp, Randeng daoren. They were adversaries in the late 17th-century novel The Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen yanyi). Zhao rides a black tiger and brandishes his iron cudgel. His magic weapon, a pair of scissors, floats near his head. He holds a gold ingot, symbol of wealth. This is because he sometimes functions as a god of wealth. Zhao Gongming’s appearance reflects theatre practices. In Chinese opera, face-painting conveys information about the temperament of the person being portrayed on stage. Red indicates courage, loyalty and uprightness.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
2010 May-Sep, BM, Dept of Asia, The Printed Image in China
2012 5th May -29th July, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, ‘The Printed Image in China’
- Acquisition date
- 1982
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1982,1217,0.55