OFFICIAL SCHOOL, 1780-1850

For a discussion of the subject depicted on this bottle, see K.B. Tsang, "The Tiger: King of all Animals," in the JICSBS, Winter 1998, pp. 5-12, where the author notes, "The most popular tiger-killing hero, however, is likely to be Wu Song, a character noted for his strength and valor in Shuihu zhuan (Water Margin), a novel written by Shi Nai'an during the fourteenth century about the various deeds of a group of righteous robbers. Wu Song disregarded the advice of the owner of a wine shop where he had drunk eighteen bowls of strong wine to stay there for the night. He insisted on embarking on his journey home through Jingyang Ridge where a man-eating tiger was known to prowl." The author continues, "This crucial, life-or-death struggle between man and beast has inspired many artists working in different media."