Xu You and Chao Fu 1700 - 1764

This woodblock print by Okumura Masanobu depicts the ancient Chinese story of Xu You and Chao Fu, paragons of integrity. We see Chao Fu leading his ox away from a waterfall where Xu You washes his ears. The act of cleansing with water is an ancient symbol of purification, transcending cultures. Consider the ritual ablutions in ancient Judaism or Islam, where water cleanses not just the body but also the spirit. Here, Xu You washes away the pollution of hearing Emperor Yao’s offer of the throne, a gesture of profound moral disgust. Chao Fu, fearing the water is now tainted, refuses to let his ox drink from it. Such disdain for power echoes in the story of Diogenes, who famously lived in a barrel and rejected Alexander the Great’s offers. These images tap into a primal human ambivalence towards power. We see a recurring motif: the voluntary rejection of worldly authority as a pathway to spiritual purity, a powerful expression of humanity's complex relationship with power that engages us on a subconscious level.