Around China 2010-04-24

1、Wu Quanfu is famous in Shanyuandai village, Longyou County, Zhejiang province. His root carving and potted landscapes are of the highest quality in local Longyou County. He made such good use of the tree stumps and made his fortune from potted landscapes with one hand. 2、This painting "The Copy of Wei Yan's Pasturing Horses" was commissioned by the Emperor as an imitation of a famous work by the Tang painter Wei Yan. There are 1286 horses and 143 people in the composition, which is divided into two parts. In the first part a large group of unsaddled war steeds at right are led by an official in a slow procession toward the left. In the second part at left, the steeds that have reached the pasture are widely scattered and move about freely. The entire entourage of horses and people are spread out along the river and on the hill in a detailed, realistic and majestic depiction of the royal horses put out to pasture. Although an imitation of Wei Yan’s old work, the painting, upon closer scrutiny, displays a uniquely personal touch of Li Gonglin in his rhythmical use of brushstrokes of varying thickness.