Fishing in Mountain Streams

This painting renders a fishing boat floating in tranquil water and a man with a high topknot suggesting his identity as an ancient scholar. A thatched pavilion near a wood-frame bridge—a commonly employed motif in traditional Chinese painting—symbolizes the remoteness of the mountains. Fishing in mountain streams is a classical subject that Lu Yifei tried to revive with his innovative composition. In 1979, when Lu completed this work, the influence of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976)—a national movement to eliminate established Chinese culture—still lingered and many critics insisted on rejecting traditional values and suppressing classical subjects. Many educated painters including Lu protested this extremism by intentionally reviving classical themes. Arguably, this is one of several attempts by Lu to render fishermen in a way that conjures up the thoughts of the leisurely and idyllic life that ancient scholars preferred.