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Elephants and Birds Helping Da Shun (Tai Shun) Cultivate Land in the Li Mountains Whence He was Driven by His Family's Cruelty, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Elephants and Birds Helping Da Shun (Tai Shun) Cultivate Land in the Li Mountains Whence He was Driven by His Family's Cruelty, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

Elephants and Birds Helping Da Shun (Tai Shun) Cultivate Land in the Li Mountains Whence He was Driven by His Family's Cruelty, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

Artist/Maker (Japanese, 1797–1861)
Publisher
Date1843–44
MediumColor woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsHorizontal ōban; overall: 9 7/8 × 14 11/16 in. (25.1 × 37.3 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
PortfolioA Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety (Nijushiko doji kagami)
Object number1950.569
Status
Not on view
More Information
Da Shun (Shùn舜) was the last of the legendary Five Emperors of ancient China. Although terribly mistreated by his parents and half-brother, Shun’s filial piety was such that he never bore a grudge. In one legend, as he labored at farm work, his noble character attracted elephants and birds to come and help him. The emperor Yao, hearing of his virtue, chose Shun to succeed him.

A direct example of Kuniyoshi’s study of Western sources, the elephants in this print appear to be based on an image in a Dutch book by Johan Nieuhoh (1618–1672), Gedenkwaerdige zee en lantreize door voornaemste landschappen van West en Oostindien, known in Japan as Tōzai kairiku kikō.
Exhibition History
Envisioning Edo's Splendor: The Floating World and Beyond
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 3, 2009 - July 19, 2009 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Chiba City Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan (April 13, 2019 - May 25, 2019 )
  • Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan (June 8, 2019 - July 28, 2019 )
  • Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, Japan (August 10, 2019 - September 29, 2019 )
Ukiyo-e Prints from the Mary Ainsworth Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 14, 2020 - December 6, 2020 )
Inspirations: Global Dialogue Through the Arts
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 5, 2023 - May 31, 2025 )
Collections
  • Asian
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.
Min Sun (Binshiken) Sweeping Snow while His Stepmother Spoils Her Two Sons, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Min Sun (Binshiken) Sweeping Snow while His Stepmother Spoils Her Two Sons, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Guo Ju (Kakkyo) Discovers a Pot of Gold as He Digs a Grave to Bury His Infant Son so He May Provide More for His Aged Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Guo Ju (Kakkyo) Discovers a Pot of Gold as He Digs a Grave to Bury His Infant Son so He May Provide More for His Aged Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Yang Xiang (Yōkō) Protecting His Father from the Tiger, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Yang Xiang (Yōkō) Protecting His Father from the Tiger, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Wang Xiang (Ōshō) Catching Carp for His Stepmother from a Frozen River, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Wang Xiang (Ōshō) Catching Carp for His Stepmother from a Frozen River, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Wu Meng (Gomō) Fetching Braziers to Keep Mosquitoes from Biting His Father, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Wu Meng (Gomō) Fetching Braziers to Keep Mosquitoes from Biting His Father, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
The Woodcutter Zeng Shen (Sōshin) Hurrying Home to His Mother Who Had Bitten Her Finger in Irritation at His Absence to Call Him Home, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
The Woodcutter Zeng Shen (Sōshin) Hurrying Home to His Mother Who Had Bitten Her Finger in Irritation at His Absence to Call Him Home, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Wang Pou (Ōhō) Frightened by the Thunder God, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Wang Pou (Ōhō) Frightened by the Thunder God, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Wu Meng (Gomō) Fetching Braziers to Keep Mosquitoes from Biting His Father, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Wu Meng (Gomō) Fetching Braziers to Keep Mosquitoes from Biting His Father, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Lu Ji (Rikuseki) Explaining to His Host that He Had Taken Two Extra Oranges to His Parents, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Lu Ji (Rikuseki) Explaining to His Host that He Had Taken Two Extra Oranges to His Parents, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Meng Zong (Mōsō) Searching for Bamboo Shoots in the Snow to Satisfy a Craving of His Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Meng Zong (Mōsō) Searching for Bamboo Shoots in the Snow to Satisfy a Craving of His Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Jiang Shi (Kyōshi) and His Wife Catching Fish for His Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Jiang Shi (Kyōshi) and His Wife Catching Fish for His Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
ca. 1840
Zeng Shen (Sōshin) Climbing Down from a Tree, from the series The Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety
Zeng Shen (Sōshin) Climbing Down from a Tree, from the series The Twenty-four Chinese Paragons of Filial Piety
late 1840s