REPUBLIC PERIOD, WANG DAFAN SIGNED WUCHEN CYCLICAL YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1928 AND OF THE PERIOD

As indicated by the poem, the scene is from a folk story which was made popular by Ming dynasty woodblock print, and in particularly from the San cai tu hui, which illustrates the story of the woodcutter, Wang Zhi, who one day went up the Shishi Mountain to cut wood. Wang came across two men playing weiqi in a grotto and stayed to watch, and on his return home when he found he had been away for hundreds of years. Since Wang no longer had any surviving relatives and friends, he returned to the mountain and gained enlightenment.

The artist, Wang Dafan (1888-1961), one of the 'Eight Friends of Zhushan' was a native of Yi county in Anhui province. His style name is known as Yishan Qiaozi, 'The Woodcutter of Mount Yi', which also appears in the text inscribed on the panel.