After Xie Huan: An elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden (1437)

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA)

A painting by an anonymous painter which shows a gathering of several officials and servants. The man in the red robe is Grand Secretary Yang Rong (1371–1440), the host of this meeting which takes places on April 6, 1437 in the Apricot Garden in Beijing. Sitting next to him in the blue robe is Yang Shiqi (1365–1444), the chief advisor to the Zhengtong Emperor (1427-1464) and the most important guest of the meeting. The object on the left and right are antiques, paintings, brushes and ink, and games which were provided by the host Yang Rong as 'scholarly amusements' for his guests. The orginal painting was done by the Chinese artist Xie Huan (1377–1452) but this copy was made by an unknown artist, probably a contemporary copy for one of the other participants at the gathering. Painting from 1437.