We know little about Zhou Dongqing. he was born Daoist center at Mount Longhu, was active in the late13th century and friends with Song loyalists. The painting is inspired by a Daoist tale from 400BCE where two philosophers beate about knowing what a fish thinks. His own poem starts 'Not being fish, how do we know their happiness? But we may express our feelings in our painting.
Original size: 30.8 cm x 593.7 cms
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. 47.18.10