especially to America and the West, with the photo- glance, the thin, jointed stalks and small and large leaves graphs of famine- stricken children and the English- point to a continuation of the literati lineage found in the language newspaper headlines reading “Reagan’s Code earlier Joseon bamboo painting by Yi Jeong. Yang trained of Honor” and “A Ri昀琀 in the Communist Party.” He even as a court painter in the Joseon- dynasty Dohwaseo forces us to question the norms of art production by (Bureau of Painting), and he was particularly known for reusing bags that held grain as his substrate. The fore- his plum blossom and geese paintings.�� ground is le昀琀 unpainted, and the printing on the bags Yet Yang painted Blood Bamboo in 1906, during a is clearly legible, calling attention to the fact that this tumultuous time for the Korean peninsula. At the turn of work is not on the usual canvas, paper, silk, or wood. Just the century, Korea had to contend with the increasing as anyone and everyone can be the subject of a work, encroachment of Western countries and Meiji Japan. In anything can be used to make art. response to rapidly changing global politics, King As Lee demonstrates, Korean art de昀椀es straight- Gojong, who ascended to the throne in 1864, declared forward categorization. Like Suh Se Ok’s People, Lee’s Joseon an empire in 1897, thus becoming the last Joseon Earth- at- Oziri (Oziri People) seeks to challenge the king and the 昀椀rst emperor (r. 1897–1907) of the Korean traditional painterly languages of the past. Though Empire (Daehan Jeguk, 1897–1910). Japan’s victory in the the artistic outcomes are not always known, such art Russo- Japanese War (1904–5) and the 1905 Ta昀琀- Katsura demands that we pay attention to the details and adopt Memorandum, in which the United States agreed to gazes that are as dubious as those of the men in the reduce its involvement in Asia and allow Japan to take painting, in search of future horizons. control of Korea, paved the way for Japan’s increasing imperial ambitions.�� Consequently, the Korean Empire LINES was forced to sign the Eulsa Treaty (Japan–K orea Treaty of Returning to Suh Se Ok’s People leads us to the 昀椀nal 1905), making Korea a protectorate of Japan and depriv- theme—lines—which reconsiders calligraphy and ink ing the country of its diplomatic sovereignty. painting, two techniques synonymous with Korean art. Yang was asked to paint Blood Bamboo for the On another level, lines suggest lineages and legacies, Korean Daily News (Daehan maeil sinbo) a昀琀er the invisible connections across time. politician, diplomat, and general Min Young- hwan (민영환 Bamboo in the Wind (昀椀g. 42), from the early seven- 閔泳煥, 1861–1905) died by suicide in symbolic opposition teenth century, is a rare extant example of bamboo to the Eulsa Treaty.�� When the room in which he had painting by Yi Jeong, a premier literati artist and great- died was opened a year later, it was reported that great- grandson of King Sejong (세종대왕 世宗大王, bamboo stalks had grown through the 昀氀oorboards where r. 1418–50). Yi’s con昀椀dence and expertise are on display his bloody clothes had lain. The bamboo was said to have throughout the composition, from the li昀琀ing of the forty- 昀椀ve leaves, matching Min’s age at the time of his brush to form the leaves’ tapering ends and the precise death, and to have been nurtured by Min’s blood, leading changes in direction to create the tips bent by the wind to its being called hyeoljuk, or “blood bamboo.” While to the faint gray depiction of bamboo in the background. Yang would create a few versions of Blood Bamboo, the A favored subject for East Asian scholar-p ainters for original painting was 昀椀rst published on July 17, 1906, and over a millennium, bamboo is imbued with both subsequent versions were printed in other newspapers Confucian and Daoist meanings; hence, it is as much a and circulated as woodblock prints.�� symbol as it is an object. As rendered in this painting, In the version reproduced here, the bamboo is bamboo is admired for its ability to bend in the wind with- situated against an unpainted backdrop growing from out breaking. It is a symbol of resilience and 昀氀exi bility, of the land, not sprouting from the 昀氀oorboards within an adapting but not succumbing to the harsh elements—all interior, as described in the colophon; this decision gives character traits of a virtuous person. These traits are the subject a timeless quality. Painted in green, the referenced in the colophon describing the painting: bamboo is alive and connected to the land. Because of these choices, Blood Bamboo is more than a literati or Aged bamboo has grown unevenly, calligraphic symbol and more than a continuation of a Branches li昀琀 together in the breeze, painting style. Desolate and sparse, seeking to stir people, Calligraphy has long been thought to re昀氀ect the Lingering resonance found nowhere else.�� writer’s moral character. The brush is an extension of the hand on an arm that is connected to the heart; thus, The values of “seeking to stir people” and “lingering the style and ability of a calligrapher are said to mirror resonance” take on added meaning in the 1906 work their heart and mind.�� Ahn Junggeun stands within a Blood Bamboo, attributed to Yang Gi- hun (昀椀g. 43). At 昀椀rst legacy of calligraphers who use an expressive brush to 39