Green peaks among golden clouds with temples near the top, and below, three men in white seated by a stream

Paradise of the Peach Blossom Spring

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What you see

The eye enters at the bottom. There, three men in white rest on the rocks beside a stream, a servant standing to one side, while another crosses a plank bridge carrying something in his hands. Higher up, green crags alternate with bands of cloud, and pavilions and temples appear among pines almost to the summit.

The brilliant greens and blues of the rocks stand out against the golden silk, and dark pines frame the lower scene. At this size the flowering peach trees are hard to make out. Look for the servant on the bridge with his pinkish load and the lone pavilion on the edge of a cliff halfway up.

About Qiu Ying

Qiu Ying was born around 1494 into a peasant family in Taicang and began in Suzhou as an artisan decorating lacquerware before becoming a professional painter. His meticulous, elegant brushwork and his gift for copying Song and Yuan paintings won him the favour of wealthy collectors such as Xiang Yuanbian. He is counted today among the Four Masters of the Ming dynasty, and his daughter Qiu Zhu also became a painter.

All 12 works by Qiu Ying