"The Boatman Zhang Heng" is a preparatory drawing from 1868 depicting Zhang Heng, known by the nickname "Boat-Fire Zhang," one of the 108 heroes of the Chinese novel "Water Margin" (Suikoden). A pirate and boatman by trade, Zhang Heng joined the rebel band that gathered at Liangshan Marsh in the novel's great outlaw community. Yoshitoshi's preparatory sketch captures the character's rough vitality at the drawing stage, before the transfer to woodblock that would turn his fluid ink lines into the harder-edged forms of printed composition.
1888
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Color woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
The Boatman Zhang Heng was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in 1868, 8th lunar month.
The Boatman Zhang Heng depicts figures, boats & ships, and seascapes.
The Boatman Zhang Heng measures 40.2 × 27.5 cm (Oban format).
