The National Palace Museum (Taiwan Palace Museum) in Taiwan has announced the launch of a new calligraphy and painting exhibition at its northern branch. The exhibition features four displays that integrate calligraphy, painting, and embroidery, combining visual and auditory elements to create a harmonious artistic symphony.
According to Taiwan Palace Museum, the artworks not only captivate the eye but also speak to the heart, while the intricate embroidery craftsmanship leads viewers to explore deeper sensory realms through delicate textures and designs.
The four new calligraphy and painting exhibitions at the northern branch of Taiwan Palace Museum include the themed exhibition “Colorful Weavings – Qing Dynasty Silk Embroidery Exhibition,” showcasing selected treasures from the museum’s collection of Qing Dynasty silk embroidery, highlighting the rich diversity of Qing palace collections and weaving techniques. Another themed exhibition, “Melodious – Listening to Sounds within Paintings,” focuses on how ancient painters depicted “sound paintings” with brush and ink. The routine exhibitions, “Focus on National Treasures” and “Appreciating Palace Museum Calligraphy,” have also been updated with new exhibits.
The curator and Deputy Researcher of the Calligraphy and Painting Literature Division at the Palace Museum, Hsu Wen-mei, stated that silk embroidery was a precious art form in ancient times. Since the Tang Dynasty, the “warp on the loom and weft cut” technique originally used in wool weaving was applied to silk weaving, allowing for precise and intricate presentation of patterns. In the Song Dynasty, embroidery craftsmanship matured, often based on the works of famous painters and covering various themes such as landscapes, flowers and birds, and figures, showcasing a refined and realistic artistic style.
Hsu Wen-mei mentioned that the exhibition selected precious silk embroidery treasures from the museum’s collection, categorized into three main units: “Ancient Silk Embroidery in Qing Palace Collections,” “Exquisite and Beautiful Silk Embroidery,” and “Weaving and Embroidery Centered around Imperial Calligraphy and Painting,” showcasing the splendid artistry of Qing palace embroidery.
In the first unit, “Ancient Silk Embroidery in Qing Palace Collections,” ancient silk embroidery paintings collected by the Qing Palace are on display. The national treasure “Rich and Prosperous Longevity with Silk Embroidery Scroll” is a surviving masterpiece of Song Dynasty silk embroidery, featuring a blue silk base interwoven with peonies, roses (also known as longevity flowers), chrysanthemums, hibiscus, and other flowers. The embroidery is delicate and vibrant, symbolizing “riches and longevity.”
The second unit, “Exquisite and Beautiful Silk Embroidery,” showcases the rich subject matter and exquisite craftsmanship of Qing palace embroidery. Two hanging scrolls, “Village Farmers Celebrating Harvest in Silk Embroidery” and “Autumn Harvest in Village Fields in Silk Embroidery,” are based on the “Farming and Weaving” imagery valued during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. The former depicts villagers pounding rice and families gathered by the fire, while the latter portrays farmers winnowing grains and organizing rice stalks, symbolizing the idealized depiction of farming society in the Qing Dynasty. Imperial calligraphy and painting were also significant sources of inspiration for Qing palace embroidery, especially during the Qianlong period.
In the third unit, “Weaving and Embroidery Centered around Imperial Calligraphy and Painting,” an artwork titled “Poetic Thoughts Embroidered on a Wishing Tree by the Yi Family, commissioned by Imperial Order” depicts the wife of Confucius’ 72nd generation descendant, embroidered with her family, creating a scene of splendid palaces and pavilions, resembling a fairyland. The poetic verses on the top left, composed by Emperor Qianlong for his mother Dowager Chongqing, with the word “longevity” symbolizing “longevity and health,” also echoing the sacred image of Dowager Chongqing’s residence, the “Longevity and Health Palace.”
Hsu Wen-mei stated that the “Qing Dynasty Birthday Character Embroidered with Silk” used Empress Dowager Cixi’s calligraphy of the character “longevity” as a prototype, with large crimson characters embroidered with seasonal flowers, adding detail with brushwork and color to demonstrate the creative fusion of calligraphy, painting, and weaving arts.
Expanding from embroidery craftsmanship to painting, the exquisite attire and crown patterns of Song Dynasty empresses, as depicted in the “Focus on National Treasures” exhibition this season, showcase the exquisite elegance of court artistry.
Hsu Wen-mei mentioned that another highlight of this season’s calligraphy and painting exhibition is the depiction of sound imageries through brush and ink. The themed exhibition “Melodious – Listening to Sounds within Paintings” selects paintings depicting the auditory atmosphere of nature and humanity, such as “Listening to Pines,” “Listening to Springs,” “Listening to Rain,” and “Listening to Qin,” inviting viewers to stop and listen to the sounds within the paintings.
Among them, “Wang Wei Walking with a Staff Below the Pines of the Southern Song Dynasty” portrays a scene of ancient trees shading the lakeshore, where a scholar walks out of a small path, pausing to listen to the transcendent sounds of pine trees. The exhibiting collection of famous calligraphy throughout the history of the Palace Museum, “Appreciating Palace Museum Calligraphy,” includes the Tang Dynasty calligrapher Yan Zhenqing’s work “Letter to Liu Zhongshi.”