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while the painting as a whole is painted using a refined and 6 MSL Taizong shilu 35.4b (2/10/乙酉).
meticulous technique of outlines filled in with colours. Pine, 7 On these two paintings, see Li Ruoqing 2012b; Liscomb 2002.
bamboo and plum blossom, appearing as background in this 8 MS 151, 4179–80.
9 Yang Shiqi c. 1445, 54.4a.
painting, are known as the Three Friends of Winter (Suihan san 10 Yang Shiqi c. 1445, 54.4a.
you 歲寒三友), which has symbolised the moral virtue of a 11 Chao Shin-yi 2011, 97, citing Fu Weilin 傅維鱗, Mingshu 明書 (Book
Confucian gentleman since Song-Yuan times. Many of the of Ming), c. 1647, juan 160.
birds depicted in the painting, such as cranes, magpies, 12 Fu Weilin 傅維鱗, Mingshu 明書 (Book of Ming), c. 1647, juan 160.
quails and sparrows, are often associated with auspicious 13 Yang Lizhi 1999, 20.
14 DZ 981.
meanings of happiness, majesty and status, in addition to 15 DZ 981.
representing virtue. The painting depicts nearly a hundred 16 MSL Taizong shilu 140.4b–5a (11/6/戊申) and 262.2b (21/8/甲子).
birds; these are analogous to many officials paying reverence 17 Zhongguo daojiao xiehui and Suzhou daojiao xiehui 1994, 617–18.
to the emperor, and symbolise accordance with the will of 18 DZ 959. On representations of this subject matter, see Little 2000,
302–5; Lin Sheng-chih 1999; Giuffrida 2008.
Heaven. Many court paintings of the Ming dynasty have 19 Little 2000, no. 111, 304–5.
auspicious meaning. The title of the painting, Three Friends 20 Lu Rong 1494, 1.4a.
and a Hundred Birds, has a distinctly celebratory feeling which 21 MSL Taizong shilu 17.5b (1/2/乙丑).
coincides with Ming imperial taste. 22 On this event, see Berger 2001; Haufler 2014, 237–8.
23 MSL Taizong shilu 69.7a (5/7/癸酉).
24 MSL Taizong shilu 65.1a–b (5/3/丁巳).
Conclusion 25 For discussions of this scroll, see Luo Wenhua 1995; Berger 2001;
In China’s history, auspicious omens were interpreted as Jiang Cheng’an and Zheng Wenlei 2000; Whitfield 2014.
signs of the peace and prosperity of the state. Propitious 26 Whitfield 2014, 80.
occurrences, such as grains with multiple ears on a stem, a 27 Luo Wenhua 1995, 90; Haufler 2014, 238; Whitfield 2014, 72.
28 MSL Taizong shilu 159.3a (12/12/癸巳).
muddy river turning clear, the appearance of phoenixes and 29 MSL Taizong shilu 101.176.1b (14/5/辛丑).
qilin, were understood as Heaven’s response to virtuous 30 Xia Yuanji 2012, 17.
rulership and a flourishing society. In order to prove the 31 Zeng Qi’s 曾棨 ‘Preface to Ode to the White Elephant’ (Baixiang fu
legitimacy of rulership, Hanlin academicians composed youxu 白象賦有序), in GJTSJC, juan 171, 782–3.
celebratory odes under imperial order, to which paintings 32 GJTSJC, juan 171, 782–3.
33 Yu Jideng 1981, juan 6, 111, 115.
were added as records. These works documented auspicious 34 MSL Taizong shilu, juan 155.1a–b (12/9/丁丑 and 戊寅).
signs, highlighted the peace and prosperity of the age and 35 Duan Yucai 2005, 475.
served as a form of political propaganda. Praising imperial 36 Feng Chengjun 1962, 55.
grace and virtue became part of the literary activities of 37 JWS, juan 171, 781–3.
38 MSL Taizong shilu 170.2b–3a, 13/11/壬子.
eminent officials as they attended to the wishes of the 39 MS 7, 95.
emperor. Producing these poems and paintings provided 40 Wu Han 1980, 262.
officials with a pathway to advancement. This was a 41 Church 2004.
distinctive phenomenon in Chinese politics. 42 Xie Zhaozhe 2001, juan 9, 3839.
43 On this painting, see Li Ruoqing 2012a; Liscomb 2002.
44 Yu Ruji et al. 1620, 2.28a–b.
Notes 45 For more on this work, see Liscomb 1988–9; Li Ruoqing 2009.
1 For other discussions of this topic, see for instance Liscomb 2002 46 Transcribed in Sun Chengze 1761, 65.1b, 65.4a–b.
and Haufler 2014. 47 Translation of the eight views follows Liscomb 1988–9.
2 MS 299, 7643. 48 Zhongguo diyi lishi dang’an guan et al. 2001, 13–35.
3 MS 299, 7643. 49 He Liangjun 1984, 112.
4 MSL Taizong shilu 34.2a–b (2/9/丙午).
5 Huang Zuo 1560–6, 11.15b.

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