A Sea of Apricots and Plums

"A Sea of Apricots and Plums" is attributed to Ren Xiong of the Qing period.

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SeaOfApricotsAndPlums300dpi.tif 
 

Scenery of the Hsiao-Hsiang Region

"Scenery of the Hsiao-Hsiang Region" is attributed to the Tung Yuan in the 10th century. In this picture it is interesting how negative-space is used for both the water and the sky by the separation of the middle-ground.

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SceneryOfHsiao-Hsiang300dpi.tif 
 

Autumn Mountains

"Autumn Mountains" is attributed to Tung Ch'i-ch'ang. The section displayed here is about 38x14cm.

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AutumnMountains300dpi.tif 
 

Mount Lu

"Mount Lu" is from an album of 22 paper leaves each about 34x20cm. entitled the "Illustrations to the Poems of Huang Yanlu" and dated between 1701 and 1702. It resides at the Zhile Lou Collection in Hong Kong. This part of the poem on the theme of hermits states "As he roamed free in the empty mountains, his former name continued to be transmitted." The cloud-shrouded mountain in this painting looks similar to the Crowsnest mountain nearby that attracts many landscape artists.

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MountLu300dpi.tif 
 

Waiting for the Ferry by a River in Autumn

"Waiting for the Ferry by a River in Autumn" is a 46x112cm hanging paper scroll that resides at the Palace Museum in Beijing and is attributed to Sheng Mao in 1351.

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WaitingForTheFerry300dpi.tif 

Cottages Under Pine Trees on a Rocky Promontory

"Cottages Under Pine Trees on a Rocky Promontory" is attributed to Yen Tz'u-p'ing and resides in the Freer Gallery.

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CottagesUnderPineTrees300dpi.tif 

Cloudy Mountains

"Cloudy Mountains" is from a silk hand-scroll that resides in the Cleveland Museum of Art. It is connected with a poem (dated the year gengxu 1130) that is also attributed to the painter Mi Youren (1072-1151) where it is written:

"Marvelous mountains, innumerable, reach to heaven's end;
misty, clearing, dark or light, beautiful day or evening."

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CloudyMountains300dpi.tif 

Emperor Ming-Huang's Journey to Shu

"Emperor Ming-Huang's Journey to Shu" is a silk hanging scroll that is probably an 11th century copy of an 8th century work that resides at the Palace Museum in Taichung.

Cannot remember the term that is used for these type of stylized clouds, but this is one of the best examples available at the moment.

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EmperorMingHuangsJourneyToShu300dpi.tif

Pine Trees by a Stream

"Pine Trees by a Stream" has a signature of T'ang Yin and is in the style of Chou Ch'en. Apparently there are also pine trees nowhere near by the stream, but they probably are not visible to the people depicted, thereby the landscape is not as big to the outside viewer.

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PineTreesByStream300dpi.tif 

Squirrels Climbing on a Bamboo Stem

"Squirrels Climbing on a Bamboo Stem" resides in the Makida Collection, Tokyo. These squirrels are very similar to the Red Squirrels here in the Canadian Rockies. Their ability to climb downward is aided by double-jointed wrists and ankles. They are very agile at making leaps from tree-to-tree and by parachuting in a spread-eagle manner are able to take a fall of over 10 meters without getting hurt. They generally stay close to their midden (which is their stash of pinecones) and will chatter if one gets too close to them, but they are very curious and will come nearby to investigate if one stays still.

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SquirrelsClimbingOnBambooStem300dpi.tif 
 

Bamboo in the Snow

"Bamboo in the Snow" is from an album of twelve bamboo studies attributed to Gui Zhuang (1623-1673) and thought to date from 1647. This picture is quite appropriate for the landscape here today.

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BambooInTheSnow300dpi.tif 

A Clear Day in a Valley

"A Clear Day in a Valley" is a section of a 12th century scroll that resides at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It is not attributed to any painter. Indeed, no personal pronouns.

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ClearDayInValley300dpi.tif