Southern Palace Museum Debuts “Fishing & Leisure” Exhibit Featuring Tang Yin Treasures

The Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum has recently unveiled a captivating new art exhibition, officially launching the special exhibition "Joy of Fishing: The Pleasure of Knowing the Fish." At the heart of this meticulously curated display is an invitation for contemporary audiences to traverse time and space, savoring the leisurely fishing village scenery depicted by ancient painters and the idealized life of literati hidden within the brushstrokes. The exhibition not only gathers precious documents and calligraphy and painting from the museum’s collection but also features top-tier national treasures, including Tang Di’s "Fishing Boats Returning in the Frosty Morning" from the Yuan Dynasty and Tang Yin’s monumental landscape handscroll "Fishing in the River and Mountains" from the Ming Dynasty. Tang Yin is one of the Four Talents of the Jiangnan region. The cultural feast will run until February 14 of next year, providing art and history enthusiasts with an ideal destination for their winter break and the Lunar New Year period.

Exploring the curatorial context of this special exhibition, the concept of "Joy of Fishing" has long held multiple and profound symbolic meanings in traditional Chinese culture and art history. In the social hierarchy and lifestyle of ancient society, although fishermen belonged to the laboring class, in the eyes of literati and artists, their lives were often seen as free from the scheming and pursuit of fame and fortune in officialdom, becoming an idealized embodiment of freedom and unity with nature. The famous philosophical debate between Zhuangzi and Hui Shi on the "Pleasure of Fish" at Hao Bridge laid a deep intellectual foundation for this artistic subject. Throughout the dynasties, literati depicted daily scenes such as fishermen casting nets, returning sails, and angling, using these images to express their longing for seclusion in the mountains and a return to simplicity. The Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum has seized this historical and cultural entry point, using a systematic arrangement of exhibits to allow modern people to glimpse how the ancients settled their minds and bodies through artistic creation, seeking a spiritual sanctuary in times of turmoil and disturbance.

Among the many exhibits, the most attention-grabbing is undoubtedly the classic work "Fishing Boats Returning in the Frosty Morning" by the Yuan Dynasty painter Tang Di. Living in the mid-Yuan Dynasty, Tang Di’s landscape painting style was deeply influenced by the renowned Northern Song masters Li Cheng and Guo Xi, and he was adept at creating the majestic and vigorous atmosphere of northern landscapes with delicate vitality. In this work, the painter uses exquisite brush and ink techniques to depict the cold scenery of late autumn and early winter, where the river and sky blend into one, with frosted forests and withered trees, as well as the moving moment of fishermen returning with a full catch. The river water, distant mountains, and cold trees in the painting echo each other, not only demonstrating the Yuan Dynasty painter’s keen observation of the changes in the four seasons of nature but also conveying a sense of stability and satisfaction after labor through the theme of returning fishermen. The exhibition of this work allows viewers to appreciate the high achievements of the Yuan Dynasty court painting school up close and feel the warm human glow that shines through the cold atmosphere.

In addition to the brushwork of Yuan Dynasty masters, the works of the Ming Dynasty talent Tang Yin are another highlight not to be missed in this special exhibition. Tang Yin, widely known among the common people as Tang Bohu, was proficient in poetry, prose, calligraphy, and painting, and his landscape works combined the rigor of Southern Song court paintings with the elegance of literati paintings. The Tang Yin landscape handscroll "Fishing in the River and Mountains" on display fully demonstrates his deep skill in composition and brushwork. This long scroll is like a flowing symphonic poem; as the scroll unrolls, towering peaks, winding clear streams, thatched cottages deep in dense forests, and leisurely anglers come into view one after another. The world of rivers and mountains in Tang Yin’s brushwork possesses both the majestic beauty of real mountains and rivers and a strong idealistic color, as if it is a concrete practice of the painter’s vision of a Peach Blossom Spring-like life. Viewing this long scroll, the public can savor how the painter uses variations in the thickness, thinness, dryness, and wetness of the ink to create a sense of deep space and a poetic atmosphere.

The significance of the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum in planning this special exhibition lies not only in displaying several precious national treasures but also in providing an opportunity for the busy contemporary public to reflect on the meaning of life. In modern society, with its fast pace and information explosion, people are often exhausted from pursuing material goods and achievements, rarely having the chance to stop and listen to their inner voices. The "Joy of Fishing" life depicted by the ancients is actually a symbol of the pursuit of spiritual freedom and life balance, reminding people of the importance of returning to nature and simplifying desires at the right time. Through this exhibition, which combines academic depth with aesthetic value, the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum has successfully created a dialogue between ancient artistic assets and the life experiences of modern people, not only enriching the local cultural heritage but also enhancing the aesthetic literacy of the entire population. The exhibition will continue until February 14 of next year, and the organizers sincerely invite people from all walks of life to take this rare opportunity to visit the Southern Branch and personally experience the unique artistic charm and cultural wisdom of these heirloom national treasures.

(Source: Central News Agency)