Bamboo and Insects

Also known as: Bamboo and Insects; Bamboo and Insects 竹蟲圖

About the Artwork

Wu Bing, a native of Piling, gained Empress Li’s favor and served as a painter-in-attendance at the court in Hangzhou during the Shaoxi reign (1190–94). The round fan painting shows a dragonfly hovering over a stalk of bamboo, a bush cricket (luowei) perching on a leaf, and a flying wasp. Yellow leaf tips suggest the late summer or early autumn season. The chirping of the cricket sounds similar to the sound of a working loom; the insect is therefore also called weaving lady (fangzhi niang). The weaving season starts when the weather is about to turn cold—the cricket symbolizes early autumn.

Inscriptions

Artist's signature at lower left: 吳炳 Wu Ping. 1 unidentified seal reading "Lo-hsi."

Exhibition history

Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 11-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982). China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).

Quick Overview

Artist: Wu Bing (Chinese, active 1190–1194)
Date: late 1100s
Medium: Album leaf; fan painting, ink on silk
Dimensions: Image: 24.8 x 26.8 cm (9 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Gift of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1964.154

Provenance

(C. C. Wang 王季遷 [1907–2003], New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. A. Dean Perry) ?–1964: Mr. A. [Albert] Dean Perry [1910?–1987] and Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry [1911–1996], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1964–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.