Folding Table Screen of Twelve Flower Dieties

Flower deities have existed in Chinese folklore for thousands of years. According to the stories, when they sing, hundreds of flowers blossom. During the 17th and 18th centuries, twelve male and female mythological and historical figures were designated as the patron deities of the flower of each lunar month. Each panel of this table screen depicts a flower god or goddess. From right to left, the flower deities are:

January—Plum Blossom Goddess of Shou Yang 寿阳, a 5th-century princess;
February—Apricot Flower God of Zijing子京, an 11th-century scholar-official；
March—Peach Blossom Goddess of Xiwei息妫, a 7th-century BCE beauty;
April—Multiflora Rose Goddess of Lijuan 丽娟, a concubine of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (r. 141-87 BCE);
May—Pomegranate Blossom God of Bowang, 博望, the imperial envoy to the West Region in today’s central Asia in the 2nd century BCE
June—Lotus God of Lianxi 濂溪