The Dragon and Tiger, Commanders of Rain and Wind
Featuring works by Asian artists in response to spiritual concepts, the exhibition “Divine Beings: China at the Center of Cross-Currents in Asian Art” spotlights exceptional works along with more than 30 selected works from the Norton’s collection. The paintings of the Tiger and the Dragon featured in this post will be on view until February 28, 2021.
By Laurie Barnes 潘 筱 莉, Elizabeth B. McGraw Curator of Chinese Art, Norton Museum of Art
Korea, Joseon Dynasty, 1392–1897
Pair of hanging scrolls, ink on silk, each overall: 91 3/8 × 40 1/2in (232.1 × 102.9 cm)
Private Collection
This pair of hanging scrolls boldly executed in monochrome ink depict a dragon and a tiger. They are on loan from renowned collectors of Korean art, and the Norton is grateful to be able to share this dynamic duo with you. The representation of the dragon and tiger in the monochrome ink style is traced back to the unparalleled Chinese master of Zen Buddhist painting, the monk Mu Qi who was active in the late 1200s. Mu Qi’s paintings executed in black ink embody the essence of Zen Buddhism, which is an amalgam of Buddhist and Taoist thought. This pair of paintings reflects the quintessence of Mu Qi’s style in the swift, fluid ink brushwork used to represent the tiger and dragon and the animals’ supernatural powers. The dragon emerges from churning waves and ascends to inhabit turbulent clouds in the sky, while the attentive tiger sits relaxed under a pine tree surrounded by bamboo rustling in a gentle breeze. This imagery echoes Mu Qi's sentiments in an inscription on a famous dragon scroll dated 1269: “the dragon rises and causes the clouds to appear.” The parallel phrase on Mu Qi’s accompanying tiger scroll is: “the tiger roars and the winds blow impetuously.” As in Mu Qi’s works, these paintings depict the dragon as the ruler of water, and the tiger as the king of land-dwelling beasts.
The inscriptions on these paintings are by Zhang Chun, who passed the jinshi examination with the eleventh highest score in 1424 to become a high-ranking official in Beijing. He served as the Head of the Ministry of Punishment and was a member of the Ministry of Justice. He was also a doctor trained in herbal medicine. The Zhengtong Emperor (first reign 1435–1449) enjoyed his recitation of poems when slightly drunk, and issued a commendation naming him “Poetry and Wine Zhang.” It is currently surmised that someone with a connection to Korea gave these paintings to Zhang Chun as a gift. The poem on the dragon painting alludes to the dragon’s power to cause rain to fall, while the poem on the tiger painting describes the tiger’s power to control the wind. In Zen Buddhism, these cosmic rulers of heaven and earth bring blessings of life-sustaining rain and peace.
There are many other works of art in Divine Beings: China at the Center of Cross-Currents in Asian Art depicting dragons and tigers, including an 18th-century Chinese artist’s copy of the 15th-century Korean tiger scroll. Explore the links below to see and learn more.
Works on view in Divine Beings: China at the Center of Cross-Currents in Asian Art:
It was not until the 900s that the dragon and tiger became subjects in Chinese painting. During the 1700s, a Chinese artist copied the Korean tiger painting included in “Divine Beings” and judiciously added light washes of color, which can be seen on the artwork below on the tiger’s nose, fur, and the pine needles in Tiger, Bamboo and Pine, 1700s.
Qing Dynasty,
Hanging scroll ink and color on paper, Overall: 88 × 32in (223.5 × 81.3 cm)
Private Collection.
Woodblock prints by Isoda Koryusai further document the longstanding popularity and influence of Chinese Zen Buddhist master painters of the 1200s -1300s on dragon and tiger imagery in East Asia.
Japan, Edo Period, 1603–1868
Woodblock print, ink on paper, signed imitative copy by Hokyo Koryusai, approx. 10 x 7 3/5 in (25.2 x 19.2 cm)
Gift from the Francena and Frank E. Hart Collection, 1961
The Japanese artist Tosa Yukihiro’s Parinirvana painting depicts the tiger and the dragon mourning Shakyamuni Buddha’s passage from this world into nirvana. Yukihiro’s revival of the Yamato-e style of painting was spurred by the popularity of the bold, spontaneous, and abbreviated style of Zen monochrome ink painting evident in the 15th-century Korean dragon and tiger paintings.
Parinirvana (tiger and dragon details), circa 1451
Japan, Muromachi Period, 1338–1573
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, image: 62 5/16 x 42 7/16 in, overall: 86 ¼ in x 57 5/8 in (219 x 146.4 cm)
On loan from the Collection of Dora Wong
More works depicting dragons and tigers in the collection of the Norton Museum of Art:
Tigers and dragons are seen in early Chinese art, such as the Shang dynasty jade tiger made about 3200 years ago and the Zhou Dynasty jade dragon made about 2400 years ago in the collection of the Norton. Taoist philosophical and cosmological texts written about 2000 years ago record that the dragon is the divine guardian of the East, and the tiger for the West. According to Taoist beliefs, the and tiger (west, wind) and dragon (east, water) rule the realms of yin and yang, giving rise to the sentiments commonly inscribed on Zen (Chinese Chan, Korean Seon) Buddhist paintings about the wind following the tiger and the clouds rising with the dragon.
Eastern Zhou Dynasty, early Warring States Period,
Nephrite jade, probably carved in Nanyang, Henan Province, 8 1/8 x 4 1/8 x 1/4 in. (20.6 x 10.5 x .6 cm)
Gift of R. H. Norton, 50.27 (Right)Pendant (Pei) in the Form of a Tiger, circa 1200 BCE,
Shang Dynasty, Anyang Period, 2 3/8 x 3/4 x 3/4 in. (6 x 1.9 x 1.9 cm)
Calcified nephrite jade, Gift of R. H. Norton, 50.29
About Dragon & Tiger Qigong
Dragon & Tiger Qigong is a 1,500-year exercise and healing technique rooted in Taoism and Buddhism. It involves meditation, controlled breathing, and movement exercises. Taichi, a widely practiced mind-body exercise, is sometimes referred to as a form of qigong. This video demonstrates and explains each of the 7 movements of Tiger and Dragon Qigong.
