The Goddess Chang'e in the Lunar Palace

Object Details

• Artist

  Formerly attributed to Zhou Wenju (傳)周文矩 (active mid-10th century)

• Label

  In primordial times, the legendary hunter Yi once received the elixir of immortality from the great goddess, the Queen Mother of the West. Before he could consume the elixir, however, Yi's wife Chang'e (or Heng'e) stole the concoction and ingested it herself, thereby becoming an immortal. Fearing her husband's wrath, Chang'e fled to the moon, where she dwells for eternity in the Palace of Boundless Cold. Among the many denizens of the moon, the white rabbit, seen beside her on the terrace, is generally shown preparing the elixir of immortality with a mortar and pestle.

  This fan painting bears a spurious signature of the tenth-century court painter, Zhou Wenju, who was famous for his depictions of elegant palace ladies. Despite this general thematic relationship to Zhou's work, the fan is a much later painting by a talented artist of the late-Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

• Provenance

  To 1909

  Loon Gu Sai, Beijing, to 1909 [1]

  From 1909 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Loon Gu Sai, Beijing, in 1909 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Album List, pg. 29, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. According to Ingrid Larsen, "'Don’t Send Ming or Later Pictures': Charles Lang Freer and the First Major Collection of Chinese Painting in an American Museum," Ars Orientalis vol. 40 (2011), Loon Gu Sai was possibly Lunguzhai, a store in the antiques district of Liulichang.

  This object exhibits seals, colophons, or inscriptions that could provide additional information regarding the object’s history; see Curatorial Remarks in the object record for further details.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Tales of the Brush: Chinese Painting with Literary Themes (February 9 to July 27, 2008)

  Palaces and Pavilions: Grand Architecture in Chinese Painting (September 29, 2002 to March 30, 2003)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Loon Gu Sai (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1800s, 1900s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Sai, Loon Gu

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Rabbits, Fans, Blue-and-green style, Art, Palace, Chinese Art, Chang'e, Charles Lang Freer collection, Landscapes, Animals, Cloud, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Woman

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Paintings