Parody of the Tale of Young Man Lu: A Fisherman Dreaming

A fisherman in loose robes sleeps against a rock beneath a windswept pine, his head resting on his arm. A thought-bubble curls up to a tiled palace hall where richly dressed officials and attendants sit on a raised floor. Fine hatched lines and wave patterns fill the monochrome woodblock print.

Look closer: A small fish-shaped dream bubble and a gourd or flask lie near the sleeper's feet at the lower left.

Artist

Unidentified artist

Date

ca. 1700

Medium

Monochrome woodblock print; ink on paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3872 × 2545 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Morris Manges, in memory of her husband, Dr. Morris Manges, 1947