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Source Description
In China, the butterfly can be a symbol of happiness in marriage. This comes from a story told by the Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi [Chuang-tzu] in which a young student chases a butterfly into the garden of a retired official. There, he sees the official's daughter and is so taken with her beauty and charm that he vows to dedicate himself to his work so that he may one day marry her. His hard work not only wins him his bride but also results in his obtaining a high-ranking position.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
22764
label
Cabbages and Butterflies
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
22764
sourceUrl
contentType
drawing
stage
normalized
title
Cabbages and Butterflies
description
In China, the butterfly can be a symbol of happiness in marriage. This comes from a story told by the Daoist philosopher Zhuangzi [Chuang-tzu] in which a young student chases a butterfly into the garden of a retired official. There, he sees the official's daughter and is so taken with her beauty and charm that he vows to dedicate himself to his work so that he may one day marry her. His hard work not only wins him his bride but also results in his obtaining a high-ranking position.
provenance
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, China Pavilion, San Francisco, 1915 [no. 163]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1915, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
15th-16th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Painting & Drawing
kakemono
scroll paintings
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
89.2
height
55.8
dimensionsRaw
H: 35 1/8 x W: 21 15/16 in. (89.2 x 55.8 cm)
style
Piling [P'i-ling] School
Source extras
inscriptions
[Inscription] Bottom right; [Seal] Bottom right
dynasty
Ming [Ming] Dynasty
med
ink and color on silk
creator_ids
6685
collection_ids
CHN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e5f640fdb7c07f99