Collection from the year jiashen (1644) in standard script (kaishu)

This exceptionally rare and important piece documents the life of Fu Shan, one of China's great calligraphers, in the years following 1644, when the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) fell to foreign invaders. The last colophon on this piece was written by a Cantonese named Hanmu. It states that Ye Gongchuo collected this piece in 1916 and asked Hanmu to write a colophon on it. Not until a year later, though, when he was inspired by his studio's surroundings, did Hanmu actually write this colophon. Sitting in the studio on a rainy autumn day, enjoying antiques nearby and green pine trees outside, Hanmu felt his world was the remote peaceful "peach blossom village" described by the poet Tao Qian (365–427).

The political turmoil that marked the end of the Ming dynasty forced Fu Shan to flee in 1644 to a village in northwest China, hundreds of miles from his home. This period of exile was to last through 1652. As an expression of his grief, sorrow, and anger, Fu wrote seventeen short pieces in various styles; all seventeen are preserved in this handscroll. Entitled Jiashen ji (A collection of the year jiashen) by the artist, this entire work is a protest against the Manchu rulers, who destroyed the Ming dynasty and established the Qing.