Artwork
Xu Jingyang Moving His Family
Xu Jingyang Moving His Family is an unspecified painting by the Baroque artist Cui Zizhong. It dates from 1644 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The hand‑scroll portrays Xu Jingyang, a fourth‑century Confucian official reputed to have achieved Daoist transcendence.
About this work
The artist used bright blue and green colors, a style from China’s older dynasties, to make the scene feel timeless.
A man floats upward with his whole family—wife, kids, even chickens and dogs—toward a cloudy sky. Below, tiny trees and mountains shrink into the distance.
This painting shows a Daoist legend: a Confucian official who became immortal and took his household with him. The artist used bright blue and green colors, a style from China’s older dynasties, to make the scene feel timeless.
To see more paintings like this, look up *china, ming dynasty (1368–1644)*.
Overview
The hand‑scroll portrays Xu Jingyang, a fourth‑century Confucian official reputed to have achieved Daoist transcendence. In the composition he ascends with his entire household—spouse, children, poultry and dogs—rising toward a cloudy realm while the landscape below recedes into miniature trees and distant mountains.
Subject & Meaning
The image visualizes a popular Daoist legend in which an earthly scholar attains immortality and transports his domestic sphere to a celestial paradise. By including everyday animals alongside family members, the work underscores the notion that spiritual elevation does not abandon ordinary life but elevates it.
Technique & Style
Executed in the pre‑Song landscape tradition, the painting relies on vivid blue‑green pigments and strong contour lines rather than detailed surface texture. The trembling outlines echo earlier masters, while the subtle play of light on rocks and foliage reflects stylistic developments of the artist’s own era.
Context
Created during the Ming period, the scroll aligns with a broader revival of ancient artistic conventions, as painters deliberately referenced earlier dynastic models to convey timelessness. Its subject matter also mirrors the era’s fascination with Daoist immortality narratives, integrating moral exemplars from Confucian history into a spiritual framework.
Artist & collection
