Qing Dynasty Poem/Watercolor of Penglai Pavillion. The painting can be dated to 1866 (noted in Chinese as the 5th year of the reign of the Tongzhi emperor; Qing Dynasty. The place depicted is the Penglai Pavilion in Yantai City, Shandong Province (a peninsular province in northeast China directly west of Korea) , a rather well-known tourist site for over 1000 years. Penglai’s Red Cliffs are said to be the place from which the Eight Immortals set out to cross the ocean a mythical journey commonly depicted in Chinese folk art) This painting commemorates/celebrates the completion of one of numerous re-constructions of the Penglai Pavilion over its history, and honors the supervisory official who ordered the reconstruction. The inscriptions on the painting address its honoree as both Da Ren ?? (literally “big man”, i.e., a man of high status, a VIP) and Dongping , a “style name” (that replaces a man’s given name when he turns 20 as a symbol of adulthood and respect). Dongping’s formal name was most probably Yu Shan, who was head of the county from 1865 (according to Baidu, an on-line Chinese source).

The painting would have been gifted as a gesture of respect, recognition, and memory. The various people who have written poems or praises appear to be mostly subordinates. At the very bottom below the painting is a 10-line rhyming poem made up of five characters each line, the poem extols the special characteristics of the Pavilion’s site and how being there affects and moves the visitor’s feelings and spirit. The poet-calligrapher’s name is Cao Guohua , and he writes in a classic archaic calligraphic style called lishu or ‘clerical style’, which dates back at least 2000 years but continues to be used by calligraphers over the ages because of its aesthetic flavor. Sight Size: 41 x 21 inches. This item is framed behind glass.Sarasota Estate Auction would like to thank Dr. Carolyn Bloomer (Sarasota Fl.) for the assistance in cataloging this lot.