The Ninth Day Literary Gathering at Xing’an [Temporary Retreat] (1743): Art, History and Details

The Ninth Day Literary Gathering at Xing’an [Temporary Retreat] (1743) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Fang Shishu (Chinese, 1693–1751); Ye Fanglin (Chinese, active late 1600s–mid-1700s).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

By the 1700s, Yangzhou was flourishing both economically and culturally as the most prosperous city in China, having surpassed all other Jiangnan cities in their creation of gardens. This group portrait commemorates a literary gathering in the private garden of the salt merchants and art patrons Ma Yueguan (1688–1755) and his brother Ma Yuelu (1697–after 1766) in Yangzhou. Ma Yueguan received imperial recognition for providing financial aid and food relief for those affected by flood and drought. Ma Yueguan is seen seated at the end of the painting holding an open scroll while Ma Yuelu stands behind the qin instrument player. Among the guests were officials, scholars, poets, painters, and merchants, a mix of local members of a poetry club reflecting increasing social diversity.

Object facts

• Title: The Ninth Day Literary Gathering at Xing’an [Temporary Retreat]
• Date: 1743
• Creator attribution: Fang Shishu (Chinese, 1693–1751); Ye Fanglin (Chinese, active late 1600s–mid-1700s)
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Handscroll; ink and color on silk
• Dimensions: Image: 32.4 x 201.2 cm (12 3/4 x 79 3/16 in.); Overall: 33.5 x 893 cm (13 3/16 x 351 9/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1979.72

A detail from the museum

The two hosts and their fourteen guests were all officials, scholars, poets, painters, and salt merchants.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Li, Dou 李斗, Wang Beiping 汪北平, and Tu Yugong 涂雨公. Yangzhou hua fang lu 揚州畫舫錄. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju chu ban; Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing, 1960. (Preface dated 1795).
• Chen, Kuilin 陳夔麟. Bao yu ge shu hua lu 寶迂閣書畫錄 . Shanghai: [publisher not identified], 1915. (Preface dated 1855).
• Ferguson, John C 福開森. Li dai zhu lu hua mu 歷代著錄畵目. Nanjing: Chin-ling University, Zhong guo wen hua yan jiu suo 金陵大學中國文化硏究所, 1934.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.