Peach Blossoms

Yun Shouping (1633–1690)'s Peach Blossoms (ca. 17th century, leaf from Album of Flowers) is an ink and color album leaf depicting clusters of soft pink peach blossoms blooming along slender, arching branches adorned with tender green leaves, executed in the boneless (mogu) style through gentle color washes and minimal outlines. The flowers cascade lightly from the top, their ruffled petals and faint veining capturing the ephemeral blush of early spring in a poised, vertical composition.

Artistic and Social Context

Painted in the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), this work exemplifies Yun’s specialization in floral subjects as a literati expression, rooted in his merchant background and barriers to civil service, which redirected his talents toward reviving Song dynasty boneless techniques inspired by Xu Chongsi. Part of his celebrated Album of Flowers, it features seasonal blooms with literary allusions, often shared in elite networks like the Changzhou School, where poetry and seals enhance the multimedia format to foster moral and aesthetic dialogue in the culturally vibrant early Qing period.

Interpretation and Meaning

Peach blossoms herald spring's renewal and symbolize a harmonious, utopian order, evoking Tao Qian’s (365–427 CE) "Peach Blossom Spring" tale of an idyllic escape from turmoil, with the inscription "The color of spring at Wuling; Aurora clouds at the Jade Cavern" reinforcing themes of poetic retreat and fleeting beauty. Yun’s "feeling taking" (qu qing) approach layers the pale pinks for gentle hope, verdant leaves for vitality, and airy space for contemplation, blending the blossoms' delicacy with inner resilience to meditate on transience, peace, and the literati's quest for equilibrium amid dynastic flux.

Size

The original size of Yun Shouping’s Peach Blossoms is 29.2 × 24.6 cm (11 1/2 × 9 11/16 inches).