Ghost Amusements, Handscroll
Luo Pin
Qing Dynasty
- MEDIUM:Ink and color on silk
- FORMATS:Handscroll
- DIMENSIONS:Height 41.5 cm; Width 1246 cm
Introduction
Renowned for his ghost paintings, Luo Pin’s ‘Ghost Amusements’ caused a sensation in the literary circles of his time, though few examples survive today. This scroll, created in April of the Yi You year (1775) when Luo was 33, bears the title Guiqu tu (“Ghost Amusements”) at its frontispiece. Comprising eight sections, it portrays a wide variety of fantastical spirits, each rendered with imaginative detail. The final eighth painting depicts two skeletons standing in a classical Chinese landscape.
Following the paintings are inscriptions by eleven Qing dynasty poets, calligraphers, and painters, including Guan Maobin, Sui Quan, Zhang Taichu, Shi Chun, Peng Guan, Wu Renji, Bi Huaitu, Zhao Jiading, Zhang Yun’ao, Gong Chen, and Bao Shichen. In their commentaries, they interpret Luo’s ghosts as allegories for human virtues and vices, as well as the rigid hierarchies of feudal society. The skeletons, in contrast, embody the idea that all distinctions vanish in death—reducing everyone to mere bones and dust.
