Windblown bamboo
Yang Han Chinese
Not on view
Backed by a waterfall and a cliff, stalks of bamboo shake in a violent wind. This powerful image was painted by Yang Han, an obscure artist from Shandong Province who was active during the early Qing dynasty. Images of windswept bamboo were often associated with “loyalist” (yimin) painters—those who refused to serve the non-Chinese rulers of the newly established Qing dynasty. In bamboo, whose flexibility allowed it to bend without breaking, loyalists saw a powerful symbol of quiet resistance.
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