Page 118 - Christie's, Important Chinese Works of Art December 2, 2015 HK

The single dragons in roundels painted in lacquer on the other
side of the screen appear to rise from the waves, in reference to the ⎕剙 or qianniuhua 䈥䈃剙 in China. The latter name, which
belief that the dragon rises from hibernation amongst the waves
at the spring equinox in order to bring the rain needed to water
the crops and ensure a bountiful harvest. The lacquer dragons are
shown amongst clouds, like those painted on paper on the other
side of the screen, but are also accompanied by a flaming pearl
and emblems, such as coral, which is one of the Eight Treasures
and a symbol of the first rank. In addition, sprays of the flowers
representing the Four Seasons - peony, chrysanthemum, lotus and
camellia are scattered amongst the clouds. The lacquer painting
on these panels is exceptionally well executed in a style that was
particularly admired by the Yongzheng emperor.5
The front of the screen has exquisite panels depicting flowers
and rocks. The lower, fan-shaped, panels are worked in the finest
kesi woven silk, while the rectangular upper panels are delicately
painted on silk in a style reminiscent of the famous artist Yun
Shouping (1633–1690).Yun Shouping, who was one of the ‘Six
Masters’ of the early Qing dynasty is especially known for his
delicate depictions of flowers, which he preferred to paint using
the so-called ‘boneless’ 㰺橐 style, without ink outlines. Many of
the flowers contained in the panels on the current screen can also
be seen on Yun Shouping’s Scroll of Flowers, now in the collection
of the Hunan Provincial Museum, on his Hundred Flowers in the
Style of Xu Chongsi sold by Christie’s in 2003 (see fig. 2),6 or
among the flowers of Yun Shouping’s album of flowers in the
collection of the Shanghai Museum. However, these exquisite
flower paintings were not chosen for their beauty alone, but for
their auspicious meanings.
Amongst the painted panels, for example, one includes a nandina
plant with fluttering leaves and brilliant red berries, which
in China is known as tianzhu ⣑䪡 or heavenly bamboo. It is
often displayed at the New Year, but is also used for birthday
greetings, since it is a rebus for ‘heaven’ and ‘to congratulate’.
The red berries of the nandina are tianzhuzi ⣑䪡⫸ and therefore
symbolize the emperor, who is the Son of Heaven, tianzi ⣑⫸.
Sometimes nandina is shown with blossoming wax plum, but on
this panel it appears in combination with plum blossom meihua
㠭剙, which is regarded as a harbinger of spring. The five petals
of the plum blossom make it an auspicious plant since five is a
sacred number in China. The five petals also suggest the Five
Blessings of long life, health, wealth, love of virtue and a peaceful day of the ninth lunar month to promote longevity. Another
death. Thus a branch of plum blossom can represent the wish
‘May the blossoms bring you the Five Blessings’, which is an
appropriate wish both the for New Year and also for a birthday.
Another of the painted panels is decorated with an attractive
combination of peach blossom and white hydrangeas.The peach
blossoms, taohua 㟫剙, which in this case have double petals, are
symbols of both love and spring. The peach fruit is a symbol
of longevity, while the multi-petalled peach flower is called the
‘immortal flower’, shenxianhua 䤆ẁ剙, also suggesting longevity.
The white hydrangea has the common name of xiuqiu or
‘embroidered ball’ in China, but it is also known as Baxianhua
ℓẁ剙 ‘Eight Immortals flower’ (a name it shares with one of
the varieties of viburnum). The emphasis of this decoration
is therefore a wish for longevity. Another rectangular panel is
painted with tree peonies and morning glory. The morning
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glory is a symbol of marital happiness. It is called labahua ┯
means ‘leading an ox’ derives from a legend that says that the
seeds of the plant once cured a sick farmer of his illness, and he
led his cattle into the field in order to give thanks to the plant
which had saved his life. Thus it is associated with good health.
The tree peony is known in China as the ‘king of flowers’ and is
associated with royalty since it was grown in the imperial gardens
as early as the Sui dynasty. It is also known as the ‘flower of riches
and honours’. This panel therefore contains wishes for marital
happiness, good health, riches and honours.
The painted panels naturally include two more of the most
popular flowers - lotus and chrysanthemum. The painting of
lotus flowers and leaves is especially fine, with charming details
such as the browning and slightly insect-eaten look of the older
leaves. Lotus is the flower which represents summer. It is an
important symbol within Buddhism, providing the shape of
thrones for Buddhist deities and being particularly associated
with the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Lotus flowers are also symbols
both of feminine beauty and of purity - the latter because the
blossoms rise unsullied from the mud. The open seed pod of
the lotus is also regarded as auspicious in China, symbolising the
early arrival of children. One of the Chinese words for lotus is
he 匟, which is a homophone for the word for harmony, also he
␴, and so provides a wish for harmony in a number of contexts,
but particularly marriage
Along with lotus, orchid and bamboo, the chrysanthemum
is regarded as one of the ‘Four Gentlemen of Flowers’, and
chrysanthemums also appear on one of the painted rectangular
panels of the current screen. The admiration of chrysanthemums
has a very long history in China, and they are even mentioned
in the ancient Chinese classic work the Book of Odes 娑䴻. From
the Eastern Jin period chrysanthemums have also been closely
linked to the famous reclusive poet Tao Yuanming (AD 372-427),
who is noted for his love of chrysanthemums and for references
to them in his poetry. They have remained popular in art and
literature ever since. Apart from its beauty, the chrysanthemum is
valued for the fact that it blossoms at a time of year when most
flowers fade with the onset of cold and frosty weather, and for
the health-giving properties of infusions made with its petals. In
the Han dynasty chrysanthemum wine was drunk on the ninth
reason that they are associated with longevity is because the
word for chrysanthemum ju 卲 sounds similar to the word jiu ᷭ,
meaning ‘long enduring’.The chrysanthemum has thus become a
symbol of longevity and good health, as well as being the flower
representing autumn.
Chrysanthemums also feature amongst the flowers that appear
in the in the beautiful fan-shaped silk kesi panels set below the
painted rectangular panels. All the flowers on these kesi panels
have also been chosen with care, for their auspicious meaning.
Another kesi panel has a design of daylilies. These flowers have
a number of common names in China including wangyoucao ⾀
ㄪ勱 ‘herb that dispels grief ’ and yi’nancao ⭄䓟勱 ‘boy-favouring
herb’. It was believed that if a woman wore daylilies throughout
her pregnancy, she would have a son. Thus, the daylily also