Don't Tell Secrets to a Parrot
Chinese Story Art

Don't tell your secrets to a parrot

This piece depicts the story of a man that wants to be left alone to read his books. He tells his parrot "If anyone comes, tell them that I am not here".

Unfortunately the bird simply repeats "If anyone comes, tell them that I am not here" when people come to the door and so the man's secret is revealed.

The story is actually an old and famous Chinese Joke. But is can also be used as daily advice, not give away your secrets to those whom you can not trust.

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Trying to match them up as a set?

Please note: There are many many variations between batches of paintings that this artist produces. These include the color of the handmade paper, and slight size differences. If you need a nicely-matching set, please contact us, and we'll do our best to pick out a special group for you (we may have to get some custom made for you, but we are willing to do that if you are willing to wait).

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Want a larger size Chinese philosophy painting?

If you would like larger versions of any of these titles, just let us know, and we will ask the artist to custom paint some for you.
The maximum size the artist is willing to paint is 18" x 18" (45cm x 45xm). This is double the area of the paintings we normally offer, and the price is also double for the larger custom sizes.

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About This Collection of Chinese Philosophy Art

This painting is from the San Yang Collection, a great series of paintings that depict various folklore, stories, and philosophies of Chinese culture.

I have translated the stories of these paintings into English with the personal help of the artist.

This work was done in Beijing, China by Zhang Xiuzhen whose pen name is "San Yang".

She is a rather famous artist in northern China and has been painting since 1958.
Her work has been seen in many international exhibitions around the world over the last decade.

This is known as "free-hand style" painting.
This style of painting is done quickly with broad and powerful strokes. But often with a half-dry brush. This is a very specific technique that this artist has mastered, and many try to copy.

Painted with watercolor and special Chinese ink on handmade xuan paper (rice paper) with gold flecks/flakes. The paper itself is handmade in a process that takes more than a year to complete. We then mount the paper (laminate it to more sheets of xuan paper) to thicken it up an keep it flat and wrinkle-free for the framing process.

Note: Framing is not included! However, the artwork is ready-to-frame, unlike raw unmounted xuan paper that some other Chinese art galleries sell.