Lot 329

A Japanese scroll, paint on silk, depicting Han Xin ( 231/230 – 196 BC) crawling between the legs of a hooligan. Han Xin was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. According to the legend a hooligan saw Han Xin carrying a sword and challenged him to either kill him or crawl between his legs. Han Xin knew that he would become a criminal if he killed him, so instead of responding to the taunts, he crawled between the hooligan's legs and was laughed at. Several years later, Han Xin found the hooligan and instead of taking revenge, he appointed the hooligan as a 'zhongwei' (equivalent to a present-day lieutenant) and said, "This man is a hero. Do you think I could not have killed him when he humiliated me? I would not become famous even if I killed him then. Hence, I endured the humiliation to preserve my life to achieve great things in the future.", Japan, 20th century -148 x 60,5 cm, some light staining-