Orchid Pavilion Gathering

The Orchid Pavilion Gathering of 353 CE, also known as the Lanting Gathering, was a cultural and poetic event during the Jin dynasty (266–420) of the Six Dynasties era, in China. This event itself has a certain inherent and poetic interest in regard to the development of landscape poetry and the philosophical ideas of Zhuangzi. The gathering at the Orchid Pavilion is also famous for the artistry of the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, who was both one of the participants as well as the author and calligrapher of the ''Lantingji Xu'' (''Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion''). Sun Chuo also wrote a preface, which is somewhat less famous.

The Orchid Pavilion Gathering of 42 literati included Xie An and Sun ChuoYip, 137 and Wang Pin-Chih at the Orchid Pavilion (''Lanting'') on Mount Kuaiji just south of Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing in Zhejiang), during the Spring Purification Festival, on the third day of the third month, to compose poems and drink huangjiu. The gentlemen engaged in a drinking contest known as " floating goblets" (): rice-wine cups were floated down a small winding creek as the men sat along its banks; whenever a cup stopped, the man closest to the cup was required to empty it and write a poem. In the end, twenty-six of the participants composed thirty-seven poems.

Modern influence

Aside from reproductions of the ''Lantingji Xu'', other influences include the Orchid Pavilion Calligraphy College at Shaoxing University and Jay Chou's recording of a song by Vincent Fang entitled "''Lántīng Xù''" (, "Orchid Pavilion") from his album '' Capricorn''.

Scroll copy of "Lantingji Xu"

Gallery

The events of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering and the ensuing poems have inspired not only generations of poets, but also painters and other artists.

File:Wang Hsichih.jpg, Wang Xizhi () was a Chinese calligrapher, traditionally referred to as the "Sage of Calligraphy" (). This image was carried on the book which is called "Wan hsiao tang-Chu chuang-Hua chuan ()" which was published in 1921 ().
File:LantingXu.jpg, Main text of an early Tang Dynasty copy of Wang Xizhi's ''Lantingji Xu'' by Feng Chengsu (), located in the Palace Museum, Beijing. This is considered the best surviving copy. Many copies in Chinese history were made from a lost original possibly buried in Emperor Taizong's mausoleum.
File:Juran - Xiao Getting the Orchid Pavilion Scroll by Deception.jpg, Juran – Xiao Getting the Orchid Pavilion Scroll by Deception.
File:Yan Liben. Xiao Yi Trying to Swipe the Lanting Scroll. National Palace Museum, Taipei.jpg, ''Xiao Yi Trying to Swipe the Lanting Scroll'', Song (960–1279) copy of a Tang original painting.
File:Jade Mountain MIA 9210313.jpg, Jade Mountain Illustrating the Gathering of Scholars at the Lanting Pavilion, 1790 (Minneapolis Institute of Art)
File:明 錢榖 蘭亭修禊圖 卷-Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion MET DP204432.jpg, 明 錢榖 蘭亭修禊圖 卷-Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion MET DP204432

See also

*Admonitions Scroll
* History of graphic design
*Juran (painter)
*Lantingji Xu
*Orchidaceae
*Shangsi Festival
*Six Dynasties poetry
*Xie An
*Zhejiang

Notes

References

*Chang, H. C. (1977). ''Chinese Literature 2: Nature Poetry''. (New York: Columbia University Press).
*Swartz, Wendy (2012) "Revisiting the Scene of the Party: A Study of the Lanting Collection", ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', 132.2 pp.275-300
http://asianlanguages.rutgers.edu/images/stories/Faculty_Profile/facultydocs/swartz.lanting%20collection.pdf

*Yip, Wai-lim (1997). ''Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Major Modes and Genres ''. (Durham and London: Duke University Press).

{{Jin dynasty (265–420) topics

Poetry festivals in China
Chinese poetry collections
Six Dynasties poetry
353
Cultural festivals in China
Jin dynasty (266–420)