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) The Jin dynasty or Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the or the , was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty in China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had previou ...

of the

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD, between the end of the Eastern Han dynasty and the beginning of the Sui ...

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 Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

), during the Spring Purification Festival, on the third day of the third month, to compose poems and drink

huangjiu ''Huangjiu'' () is a type of Chinese rice wine (''mijiu'') most popular in the Jiangnan area. ''Huangjiu'' is brewed by mixing steamed grains including rice, glutinous rice or millet with ''qū'' as starter culture, followed by saccharifica ...

. 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 Shaoxing University () is located in Shaoxing, Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View ...

and

Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...

's recording of a song by Vincent Fang entitled "''Lántīng Xù''" (, "Orchid Pavilion") from his 9th studio 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 The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...

) 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" by Qian Gu, 1560 ( MET DP204432)

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Chang, H. C. (1977). ''Chinese Literature 2: Nature Poetry''. (New York: Columbia University Press). *Kameda-Madar, Kazuko (2021). "An iconology of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering: Image, text, and communities in Tokugawa-era Japan". In Leupp, Gary P.; Tao, De-min (eds.). The Tokugawa World. Abingdon/New York: Routledge. pp. 730–746. . *Kameda-Madar, Kazuko (2022). Imagery of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering: Visualizing Tokugawa Cultural Networks. Japanese Visual Culture. Vol. 22. Leiden/Boston: Brill. *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)