The Fighting Oxen
Researched by Dr Abe V Rotor
Chinese Ancient Fables
"Look! How spirited they look, like live ones."
Two oxen fighting in real life.
The artist swelled with pride. He had the painting mounted on precious silk hung from jade rods, and put it away in a cedar chest. Rarely would he show it to anyone except those who could appreciate fine work.
One day he took the painting from the chest, unrolled it, and hung it in the sun, as a precaution against bookworms.
Just then a cowherd entered the courtyard, stood before the picture and smiled broadly.
"Do you know anything about painting, boy?" asked the artist. "What do you think of the oxen, aren't they lifelike?"
"They look like oxen," said the cowherd, still smiling.
"And is there anything that strikes you as being wrong?"
"When oxens fight and butt with their horns," said the boy, "they keep their tails tucked between their ramp. Now in this picture, they're flicking their tails about. I've never seen oxen fighting like that before."
The great artist had no answer to this. (Dong Po Zhi Lin)
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