Lion Grove after Ni Zan

Yun Shouping has chosen to base the theme of the pleasures of a life in reclusion on the style and content of a poem by a famous hermit, the Yuan dynasty artist Ni Zan (1301–1374). Ni lived during the chaos that preceded the fall of the foreignled Yuan dynasty in 1368. This was a time when China was beset by famine, flooding, warfare, and economic disasters, and Ni chose to live a life of seclusion rather than deal with such matters.

Yun Shouping was eleven years old when the Ming dynasty fell to the foreign led Qing (1644–1911), and he must have felt empathy for Ni. His choice of subject can be also be seen as an indirect political statement.

Inscription
Yun adds Ni Zan's poem "Yunlin's Self-Composition for Shizi Lin" (Lion Forest) at the top left. In it Ni Zan described himself as an aged man who "fell into a lake of ink; he mocks those monks who still sweat wandering the world;" he believes that enlightenment can be reached without traveling, the only successful method being meditation facing a rock—"even turning a face partially toward rocks, one can embrace the five mountains." He also feels he is able to understand the world and does not have to figure out the fine points to recognize Qi [as a favored] prefecture. "Shouping."

Artist's Biography
Yun Shouping (1633–1690) was a native of Wujin, Jiangsu province. Born to a poor intellectual family and an ardent loyalist to the fallen Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Yun refused to seek public office under the Manchu- ruled government of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). He earned his livelihood as a painter, calligrapher, and poet.