Painting in National Palace Museum, Ming dynasty part1

Welcome to the National Palace Museum's collection of paintings from the Ming dynasty! Here, you can explore the works of some of China's most influential painters, including Tang Yin, Qiu Ying, Bian Wenjin, Dai Jin, and Wen Cheng-ming. You will find a variety of different styles, from landscapes to bird-and-flower paintings to imperial processions. These paintings provide us with a unique insight into Chinese culture during this period. Come take a look at these incredible artifacts today!

1. Picking Lotuses

Tang Yin was a talented painter, calligrapher, and poet from Wu County, Jiangsu province in China. He was especially skilled in painting landscapes. This particular painting, completed when Tang Yin was 51 years old, depicts a summer morning on a lake.

2. Waiting for the Ferry on an Autumn River

Qiu Ying (style name Shifu, sobriquet Shizhou) was a painter from Suzhou. He studied under Zhou Chen (1460-1535) and became known for his landscape and figural paintings, along with Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, and Tang Yin as one of

3. Four Immortals Paying Homage to Longevity

This hanging scroll is a type of auspicious subject to bless for long life, a traditional theme for birthdays. It depicts four immortals of Buddhist and Daoist origin (Li Tieguai, Liu Haichan, Hanshan, and Shide) together in the same work standing on waves

4. Crossing a Bridge over a Stream

Dai Jin was the founder of the "Zhe School" of landscape painting in the Ming dynasty. His style became a model for later generations, and he is venerated as the Zhe School patriarch. This painting depicts a roaring torrent with rocks dispersed therein and a cliff in the background.

5. The Three Friends and a Hundred Birds

Bian Wenjin was an important Ming dynasty painter who specialized in bird-and-flower paintings. His style followed the tradition of fine brushwork and strong colors tracing back to the Northern Song school of Huang Quan, but also incorporated elements from the Southern Song Painting Academy.

6. Fishing in Reclusion Among Mountains and Streams

This handscroll painting by Tang Yin depicts pine trees, red maples, and yellow leaves against a waterfall and flowing stream with thatched cottage and water kiosk buildings scattered among rocky banks.

7. Departure Herald

This handscroll is a great imperial procession making its way to pay respects at the imperial tombs. Departing from the Te-sheng ("Victory") Gate of the Peking city wall, the artists here depicted shops along the way and the appearance of ceremonial guards to the final destination of the imperial tom

8. Return Clearing

The "Departure Herald" handscroll depicts an imperial procession making its way to the imperial tombs at Mt. T'ien-shou. The scroll shows the shops along the way and the ceremonial guards at the final destination.

9. Lofty Mount Lu

Shen Chou was a Chinese artist who was born in Ch'ang-chou, Kiangsu province. He was good at writing poems, essays, and painting. In 1467, when he was 40 years old, he finished this work.

10. Old Trees by a Cold Waterfall