Famous Chinese Painting: Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains

2017-09-13

"Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" is the magnum opus and one of the few surviving works by the painter Huang Gongwang in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Many consider him a member of the "four great masters of the Yuan." He spent his last years in the Fuchun Mountains near Hangzhou and completed this painting in 1350.

The painting was drawn in black ink on paper. It vividly portrays the beautiful landscape on the banks of Fuchun River, rendering the mountains, trees, clouds and villages and capturing the essence of the natural scenes in Southern China. It is regarded as the best landscape ink painting in China's art history.

Unfortunately, the masterpiece was damaged by fire and split into two pieces in 1650. Today, the first piece, 51.4 cm long and 31.8 cm wide, is kept in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, while the second piece, 636.9 cm long and 33 cm wide, is kept in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

China.org.cn