Chou Karou　張果老

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Ch: Zhang Guolao. Also called Tongxuan (Jp: Tsuugen 通玄). One of the Taoist, eight immortals *hassen 八仙 known for the magic powers of his mule. Chou Karou is said to have ridden his white mule for thousands of miles in a single day. When resting he would store the mule in a small gourd (or between two sheets of paper) and then flush it out with water sprayed from his mouth to retrieve it. Various stories relate Chou Karou's relationship with the Tang emperor Gensou 玄宗 (Ch: Xuanzong, 685-762). According to some, he steadfastly refused the emperor's invitations, while other sources claim he served Gensou as a court magician entertaining the monarch with his magic mule. In painting, he is depicted either flushing the mule from its resting place or playing with it. Well-known examples include those by Kanou Takanobu 狩野孝信 (1571-1618; Seattle Museum of Art), Kanou Mitsunobu 狩野光信 (1561/65-1608; Myouhouin 妙法院), as well as parody pictures *mitate-e 見立て絵 by the *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists Okumura Masanobu 奥村政信 (1686-1764; Art Institute of Chicago) and Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿 (1753-1806).

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