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History Of Use

Such works were often given as birthday gifts or as tokens of appreciation for respected elders.

Description

Watercolour and ink painting produced for the lunar New Year. The image is of lady Magu, an immortal, protector of females, known as the Hemp Maiden. She carries a staff over her shoulder, balancing a basket of greenery and lotus flowers. To her left stands Shou Xing, the god of longevity. He holds a peachwood (?) staff in one hand and lifts a dried fruit to Magu with the other. To her other side is a child carrying a basket of immortal peaches. A black and red inscription in Chinese text is written above the figures. The painting is adhered to a long scroll of heavy paper covered in silk and attached to a black wood scroll bar. A brown ribbon is attached to the top of the scroll.

Iconographic Meaning

The four characters (in red calligraphy) along the top translate as "Eternal Prosperity and Longevity". The poem reads: "Auspicious clouds and mist descend upon Yingzhou island. Facing westward towards the twelve levels of the Jade Pool Palace, we are again intoxicated under the peach blossoms. May all beings enjoy longevity for a thousand autumns!" In popular Chinese mythology and Daoist cosmography, Yingzhou is the name of distant island in the Eastern Sea, one of several mythical islands inhabited by immortals. The Jade Pool is the heavenly abode of the Queen Mother of the West goddess, located in the Kunlun mountains. Her sacred mountainous dwelling is described as a palace with either nine or twelve levels. She is the guardian of the peaches of immortality, also referenced in the poem. By mentioning the Eastern paradise of Yingzhou and the Western paradise of the Jade Pool, the poem conveys a symmetrical image of the cosmos and the eternal nature of this longevity blessing. The poem compliments the painted image of Magu, the Goddess of Longevity, where image and text work together to summon longevity for the viewer.