Lady Reading a Book, Chou Wen-chü, Five Dynasties Period (Southern T'ang), Hanging Scroll. The National Palace Museum, Taiwan

This cat accompanying its lady master reading in the shade of a pawlonia tree seems to have the mane and long hair of a male lion. This is perhaps the breed said to have come from the West and known in ancient times as “lion cat”. The artist has rendered the hair with detailed brushstrokes, showing the orderly hair as parted down the middle. White pigment has also been added to the back and hind legs to create a more realistic three-dimensional effect. Its yellow eyes have been done with washes of light to dark color to successfully render the reflective and three-dimensional quality of this part of the cat. The pupils of the eyes are reduced to slits to reveal its sidelong glance. In China , this type of white cat with a black or yellow tail and a patch of the same color on its head is known as “seal and spear” and “whipped ball of silk”. The figures painted by Chou Wen-chü (10 th c.) were done with fine and jagged lines that are also full and flowing, the mix of the two creating a trembling energy bearing grace and composure. Chou especially excelled at figure paintings of ladies. This work, however, does not bear the signature of the artist. In fact, the drapery lines and vigorous turns of the strokes appear quite remote from the style of Chou Wen-chü and probably represent the work of a later painter, the collector adding Chou's signature for prestige.