Pavilion among plum trees in blossom on a rocky slope, with a boat moored below and open water on the left

Visiting the Plum Blossoms (section of a handscroll)

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What you see

On the right, a rocky slope climbs thick with flowering plum trees, and among them stands a two-story pavilion; upstairs, two people sit looking out. A stepped path leads down to the shore, where a covered boat waits with its boatman. On the left, the water opens toward distant islands and a tiny boat.

Everything is done in grey and black ink on pale paper, with no color. The plum branches are broken, nervous strokes dotted with little circles for the blossoms. Spot the figure walking up the path toward the pavilion and the short vertical inscription beside the seals at lower right.

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