Nine carp

Gong Gu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A massive carp leads its eight offspring through thick aquatic grasses below the water’s surface. More than just cute animals, they allude to a line from China’s most ancient poetry collection, the Book of Odes (Shijing). It refers to “nine similitudes” (jiuru 九如)—nine comparisons that imply eternity or longevity (“like mountains,” “like streams,” and so on). Because the term for “similitude” (ru 如) sounds like the term for “fish” (yu 魚), paintings of nine fish became conventional expressions of wishes for longevity and constancy. The painter Gong Gu is otherwise unknown, but the splashy brushwork and broad washes suggest a date from the mid- to late nineteenth century.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art