Ch: Yuanhou
zhuyue.@A painting subject of the Buddhist parable that features a monkey (Jp: enkou ‰ŽàË) attempting to catch a reflection of the moon. According
to the story, one night a monkey chieftain saw the bright reflection of
the moon in the water below his tree. Thinking that the moon had died and
fallen into the water, and fearing that the world would thus slip into darkness,
the monkey called together his underlings and commanded them to join tails
and together pull the moon out of the water. However, when the monkeys attempted
this task their weight was such that the branch broke and they fell into
the water and drowned. One simple moral of the story is not to recklessly
attempt impossible tasks. On a more philosophical or Zen level, the image
of the monkey attempting to grasp a reflection of the moon is a metaphor
for the unenlightened mind deluded by mere appearances. The theme was often
depicted in ink painting, usually featuring long-armed spider monkeys. The
screen paintings by Shikibu Ž®•” (fl.16c; Kyoto National Museum) and Hasegawa
Touhaku ’·’Jì“™”Œ (1539-1610; screen painting at Konchi-in ‹à’n‰@, Kyoto), are representative.
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