13th-century painting by female artist depicts vitality of flowers

Immerse yourself in the delicate beauty of blooms depicted by Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) court lady Yang, known as Yang Jieyu. Her Flowers painting, the earliest extant one in China by a female artist, is a 17-section handscroll that showcases an array of flowers such as the balloon flower, Chinese rose, and lotus, together with auspicious imagery like “Three Stars in the Sky” (indicating new marriage), “Rising Sun” and “Mountain of Blessings and Sea of Longevity”.

This exquisite painting radiates the tranquility and vitality of nature, bringing back to life blooms from over 700 years ago. It was the final piece that the renowned Chinese painting connoisseur and collector Zhang Boju (1898-1982) donated to China, and is now housed in the Jilin Provincial Museum.