Celebrating Double Ninth Festival with ancient painting

Today marks the Double Ninth Festival – the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, a traditional Chinese day to show respect and love for the elderly. Let's step into the painting Nine Elders of Xiangshan by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) artist Zhou Chen in the Tianjin Museum's collection.

The painting depicts Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Bai Juyi (772-846) in his later years, living in seclusion at Xiangshan (east of modern-day Longmen Mountain, Luoyang), where he gathered with eight like-minded elders to enjoy poetry, music and nature.

Their retreat from worldly affairs and pursuit of harmony with nature embody the ideal of ancient Chinese literati. May all elders find peace and joy like them!