Orchid Pavilion by a Winding Stream
Hara Zaichū Japanese
This scroll presents an imaginary scene of the famous Orchid Pavilion Gathering convened by Wang Xizhi (ca. 303–ca. 361), regarded as the greatest calligrapher of ancient China. Wang invited forty-one acquaintances to an outing on the banks of a winding stream, where they composed poetry and drank wine from cups sent downstream. He drafted a preface to the compositions, immortalizing the occasion for generations of literati artists, both in China and Japan.
In Hara Zaichū’s interpretation, many of the scholars are garbed in iridescent blue robes along the verdant banks that surround the broad, winding stream—a palette derived from ancient Chinese blue-green (qinglu) painting. Wang is shown seated within the pavilion, a scroll spread before him, a brush in hand.
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