Cowboy

W80xL250xH140mm, China

We have cowboys in China too and this is a very famous cowboy.  At the end of the Ming dynasty, a time when the capital was under the attack of revolts, the Qing army, the Ming  capital moved south to Nanjing.  The courageous General Zheng  led the Ming navy defended against the Qing at the north, deterred the pilots from the Netherlands and claimed back Taiwan.  Before his return from Taiwan the Qing army took over the ruling of China and Zheng died unsettled in Taiwan.  When Qing took over, the folks were still reminiscent of the previous dynasty, not knowing Zheng’s death was longing for his return to bring back the Ming empire.  At his hometown Fujian, as a discreet statement, the craftman made variation of sculpture with a cowboy on a screaming buffalo; the first Ming emperor Zhu was in fact the famous cowboy.  Now nearly 400 years on, this design has gained his own name.