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王翬:桃花漁艇 || Wang Hui: Peach Blossom, Fishing Boat c. 1712
Today we'll be having a look at Wang Hui's (王翬) painting, Peach Blossom, Fishing Boat of the
Qing Dynasty. This is a hanging scroll painting by Wang Hui
(王翬), a Chinese landscape painter famous for his orthodox
art and reflection of the Yuan and Song traditions in his
styles. Wang Hui (王翬) was one of four Wangs that held the top of Chinese
painters throughout the Ming and Qing periods. He was gifted
at both northern and southern styles as well as ancient and
modern ones. Thus, he was aptly recognized later as "The Sage
of Early Qing Painting". That's enough about the author, you
came for the artwork. Let me tell you more about the
piece.
This work illustrates lines from Tao Yuanming's (陶渊明) poem "The Peach Blossom Spring". The poem tells a
story about a fisherman that was oblivious to the distance he had sailed, until he came upon the scenery of a forest. The forest consisted of
gorgeous and vibrant blossoming peach trees, their bases surrounded by lush and vibrantly green grass with the presence of soft flowers complementing them. Suddenly, the fisherman had come to awareness about where
he's sailed to and couldn't help but be mesmerized by the pink and light orange
sights. The fisherman, astonished and dazed, curiously squeezed through the springs and continued to a village with animals and people of all ages. The fragile and dazzlingly pink peach petals
were scattered across the ground and wove this lovely image in
the fisherman's eyes. Everybody seemed happy and living their
best life; their buckets were filled with fuzzy, ripe peaches. Not a
sight of crime, disease, grief, or desolation were to be seen.
The villagers were surprised to see him, but nonetheless
greeted him with warm regards. They explained that their
ancestors escaped to this place during the civil unrest of the
Qin dynasty, and they have not left or made contact with
anyone from the outside. The fisherman was showered in generous hospitality by the villagers and stayed in luxury for over a week. The
villagers constantly questioned him out of curiosity for the
news of today, and he answered as requested. He informed them about political uprisings, conflicts and territorial grabs; he updated them on everything in the outside world. Amazed by the
revelations revealed by the fisherman, the villagers quickly
took a liking to him. Heads of every single household invited
him in to feasts consisting of chicken and wine and other
regional dishes. Upon leaving, the villagers requested that
the fisherman not inform the outsiders of them, so that they could continue to exist in harmony and secrecy. The fisherman
gestured his goodbyes and sailed off while leaving marks on
his journey to his next destination. Upon arriving, he told the
audience of his experiences and they immediately dispatched followers to sail back with the fisherman. However, on the way back, he could
not find the marks that he had left anymore. Confused and
saddened, the fisherman sailed away, and that so called utopia
was never found again.
Peaches are a reoccurring object in Chinese art and literature.
They symbolize immortality and longevity with fertility and
blissfulness. Blossoming peach trees thus symbolize rebirth,
prosperity, growth, and romance. It is very popular for couples
to get married under a blossoming peach tree. This peaceful and
gorgeous location, disconnected from the political tensions and
atrocities of war at the time, seemingly draws itself to be a
desirable utopia.
I wish I were there right about now. Just chill by the
riverside and bite into a soft squishy peach. Relax and take in
the scenery as the calm and luscious breeze flows through the
scenery, inviting the leaves for a little dance. Maybe there'll
be some fish in the waters as well, gracefully flowing along
with the cool and crisp stream.
Chinese Peach Blossoms
Why couldn't the fisherman find the location again? Is it
because he did not fulfill the villagers' requests to not leak
the secrecy and location of their utopia, causing an observing
supreme entity a great deal of anger and casting his marks away
as punishment? Or did he just naturally lose his markings and
forget where he put them? What if this was all just a
hallucination? We may never know.
I'd like to believe that this utopia is a real place, and that
there's still a pocket of villagers there today, living in
oblivion and ignorant to the woes of today. Oblivion and
ignorance have such a negative connotation to them, but the
possession of these qualities can provide a blissful
existence.
This is turning into more of a poem review rather than a
painting review. What can I say about the painting? I chose it
because it looked nice. The pinks of the peach blossoms invite
the fisherman in and draws attention to the riverbanks. The
landscape is laced and scattered with luscious white clouds for
an almost mystifying effect, highlighting and driving in the
context of this utopic location, hidden away and disconnected
from the outside world. I just thought it looked really cool.
There's no other reason.
This piece represents the Qing era due to the landscape
characteristics, highlighting the orthodox/conservative style of
painting. Wang Hui (王翬) is also known for his Shan Shui (山水) style, involving scenery or natural landscapes highlighting
mountains, rivers, and waterfalls. The poem was a very popular
fable in the dynasty eras of China, thus there were plenty of
other interpretations and works of arts and literature
influenced by this poem.
Peach Blossom, Fishing Boat is just one of
many.
The research I performed consisted of carefully filtering
through websites and collecting valuable and informative
critical information. Or, if I'm being brutally honest, just
typing "peach blossom fishing boat" into google and clicking
around for about an hour. I did find a few very informative
sources that I tapped into to create this blog.
What's my experience touring a virtual museum? I'm not sure if
I can provide any interesting or unique feedback about it. I was
just looking at images and descriptions about them through my
22" computer monitor, while I sit in my broken 3 year old chair
with a flat cushion, listening to lo-fi hip-hop. I've been to
plenty of museums in my life, but I never truly enjoyed them or
took a liking to them. I guess I don't have too big of an
appreciation for art works or artifacts in my heart, or I just
didn't have the best experiences in going to them. After watching that 'how to visit a museum' video, maybe I'll try again with my significant other one day, of
course not until all of this blows over.
I really did enjoy stumbling upon this work of art and the poem
that came along with it. It gives more to me as the audience
than just ink and paint on a scroll. It provides context, a
backstory, a scenario and more images that I can imagine for
myself. My mind is fascinated by this fable, and my eyes are
captivated by this piece of art. I encourage those that stay
away from traditional art and the likes to give it a try. Dig a
little deeper into those individual pieces, find out some more
about their origins, and you might just find your own little
'utopia'.
Works Cited
Birch, Cyril, and Donald Keene. Anthology of Chinese Literature: from Early Times to the Fourteenth Century. Grove Press, 1967. Fong, Mindy. “Lucky Peach: A Chinese Symbol of All Things Good.” Jadechocolates, Welcome to Jade Chocolates, 21 May 2017, www.jadechocolates.com/single-post/2017/05/20/Lucky-Peach-A-Chinese-Symbol-of-All-Things-Good. “The Peach Blossom Fishing Boat - Wang Hui (1632-1717) - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-peach-blossom-fishing-boat-wang-hui-1632-1717/RAFjhAbruZWU6A?hl=en. “Qing Dynasty Art (1644-1911) History, Types and Characteristics.” Qing Dynasty Art: Characteristics, Types, www.visual-arts-cork.com/east-asian-art/qing-dynasty.htm. “Wang Hui: Chinese Painting.” China Online Museum, 5 June 2016, www.comuseum.com/painting/masters/wang-hui/. “Wang Hui: Peach Blossom, Fishing Boat.” China Online Museum, 2 Mar. 2019, www.comuseum.com/product/wang-hui-peach-blossom-fishing-boat/. |
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