Art, Mindfulness, and Medical Practice: Wu Zhen’s The Fisherman

An earlier version of this article appeared on this website in September, 2024

As a photographer, a physician, and a Visual Thinking Strategies facilitator, I believe that visual art is a portal through which we may discover find powerful connections with people from all walks of life.

For physicians and others in healthcare, art provides a framework to build understanding and create greater trust, even when we have no background in the artistic process or history. When we spend time with a work of art, we’re offered a chance to explore what the world might mean to somebody from a different time, place, or culture.

Art is also a meaningful way to access mindfulness. It only takes a few minutes of focused attention to gain a greater and more subtly shaded experience.

Think of the way that you listen to music. It may be simply background noise or entertainment, but there are times that the experience offers an unexpected way to connect the dots that have been accumulating in your subconscious mind.

In a previous article, I shared the very contemporary insights and connections that we can access by spending time with Vermeer’s The Geographer, painted in the 1600s. In this article, I’ll explore an even older work of art: Wu Zhen’s The Fisherman.

Wu Zhen, The Fisherman (attribution: Wu Zhen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Wu Zhen was a painter in 14th century China. In his lifetime, he was not really acknowledged or recognized as an important artist. But about a hundred years later, he was identified as one of the four Great Masters of the Yuan. As a result, his work became a powerful point of reference for many subsequent artists, and that continues to this day.

When Wu Zhen was painting, his country was in chaos as a result of the Mongol takeover. Despite (or perhaps because of) this turmoil, there was tremendous cultural growth underway. At the time, there was a very influential and industrious scholar class that was highly visible in public life. For the middle class, that was an elite realm of life considered worthy of aspiration.

But there was also an idealized, simpler and more rural lifestyle. Although Wu Zhen was educated and could well have lived comfortably as a scholar, he chose to take his life in this slower direction, away from the turmoil and conflict that was part of life in the city.

Through his work, he sought to capture and distill the essence of his subject with line, shade, and pattern. Many of his works, like this one, included a poem written in calligraphy, which is translated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art as:

Red leaves west of the village reflect evening rays,
Yellow reeds on a sandy bank cast early moon shadows.
Lightly stirring his oar,
Thinking of returning home,
He puts aside his fishing pole, and will catch
no more.

So Wu Zhen lived this very simple rural lifestyle, yet was a man of great intellect.

At the same time, in the cities, other Chinese artists were creating more literal portraiture. But it was understood that there was a difference between this precise way of working compared with the ethereal and intellectual work of artists like Wu Zhen.

In our contemporary age, such a longing for simplicity or austerity may be interpreted as a sign of a less sophisticated or uneducated mind. Yet these preconceptions can be misleading. Wu Zhen’s work is a reminder that in accepting such a one-dimensional stereotype, we may overlook the richness and depth of an individual. And we are all the worse for the loss.

How can you transfer the experience of art to the practice of medicine? Consider what happens when you meet a patient or somebody in your everyday life. With the brief time allotted for the encounter, you might only be given the outlines of that person, almost like a quick sketch.

Perhaps if you’re open to a richer way of seeing, you will take a few moments to appreciate those outlines. In doing so you might be able to discern more layers than you first realized, and to notice that more often than not, your patient does not fit into a simple template. Maybe it’s the choice of clothing, the way they carry themselves, the book they hold in their hand. And as a result of this discernment, your questions may become more nuanced and your listening more focused.

Think about this way of relating as creating sort of a bridge between you and the other person. You might be able to find a connection or trace a thread of a clue in the same way as you might experience a work of art.

If you want to learn more about the painting, and spend a few minutes in a mindfulness meditation focused on the work, I’ve created a YouTube video that you can access here.

An earlier version of this article appeared on this website in April 2023.

---

If you’ve enjoyed this article and would like to stay in the loop for more insights on creating a sustainable, fulfilling, and happy life as a physician, sign up for my newsletter or reach out on my website. I’d love to hear from you.

If you’d like to learn more about my coaching practice, you can schedule a complimentary introductory meeting by clicking the link below.