Peach Blossom Spring / Chen Shaomei (aka Ch'en Shao-mei)

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Record Details

Accession Number
2006/2.21
Title
Peach Blossom Spring
Artist Nationality
Chinese
Artist Life Dates
1909-1954
Medium and Support
ink and light color on paper
Object Creation Date
circa 1930-1954
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
China (nation)
Hunan (province)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
China (nation)
Creation Place 3
Hunan (province)
Dimensions
23.1 cm x 675 cm (9 1/8 in. x 265 3/4 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
hand scroll
Secondary Object Classification
Painting
Secondary Object Type
narrative painting
Physical Description
In this long narrative landscape, our eyes trace the journey of the fisherman, who may be standing in the distance on the left. His boat can be seen tucked behing a rock, and the mouth of a small cave. Pink petals of peach blossoms adorn the trees along to shore of a stream.
Subject Matter
This panoramic view of a pastoral landscape is based on a famous story of Peach Blossom Spring written by one of the greatest poets in China, Tao Yuanming (372-427). After traveling along a stream, a fisherman came to a breathtaking peach grove, where the air was filled with the aroma of peach blossoms, and pink petals fluttered through the air. The fisherman found a cave, and after passing through its narrow walls discovered a vibrant, flourishing village. Surprised to have a visitor, the residents asked where he had come from, and explained that their ancestors had fled and settled there during the harsh Ch’in dynasty (225-209 BCE). After a few days he returned home, and promised the villagers never to share where he had been. Cunningly, the fisherman marked his return path and told his magistrate of the fertile land, yet no one was able to find the idyllic village again.
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Technical Details

Image Size
3323 x 856
File Size
384 KB
Record
2006/2.21
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2006-sl-2.21/2006_2_21b.jpg

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Full citation
"Peach Blossom Spring; Chen Shaomei (aka Ch'en Shao-mei)." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-2006-sl-2.21/2006_2_21b.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 28, 2024.
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