Journey for a Family Reunion

Huang Xiangjian was a native of Wuxian (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu province). In the 16th year of the Chongzhen reign (1643), his father Huang Kongzhao brought along his wife and nephew Huang Xiangyan to Yunnan to assume office as magistrate of Dayao. Conditions were so treacherous in the wake of the Ming demise that he was unable to return home. Badly missing his parents, Huang Xiangjian set off on foot and alone to look for them in the 12th month of the 8th year of the Shunzhi reign (1651). Overcoming all the dangers and difficulties on the way, he finally found them in Baiyanjing (present-day Dayao, Yunnan province) in the 5th month of the following year and brought them safely home in the 10th year of the same reign (1653). In the 12th year (1655), he published in woodblock prints nearly a hundred paintings that documented his journeys to and from Yunnan as a memento for his father. Before long, these pictures and his associated travel notes were widely circulated in Suzhou among the literati and were even adapted by Li Yu for the drama Wanli Yuan (The Long Road to Reunion), providing thus a household text in celebration of the admirable feat of filial piety.

While the use of moss dots in dry ink is a common feature, the bluish green tints are quite rare in Huang Xiangjian’s paintings. It has been conjectured that it is the painter’s means to differentiate Mount Jizu from secular scenic spots by aligning with the depictions of religious sites and earthly paradises prevailing in the Suzhou region. In his inscription at the end of the scroll, the painter recounts that he had the opportunity to pass through the sites because his father, on their reunion, sent him to friends to raise funds for their return trip. The recurring figures in red and blue in the various sections possibly represent the father and son heading for Mount Jizu. Although there is no textual evidence to suggest this in fact took place, the painting was probably prompted by the custom to go hiking on the day of the Double Ninth Festival, which is given in the inscribed date.

Extant works and relevant textual sources about the painter’s journey for family reunion are both in abundant supply. The earliest is an album dated the 12th year of the Shunzhi reign (1655) recorded in Shibaizhai Shuhua Lu (Painting and Calligraphy Catalogue of Shibaizhai) and the latest a scroll dated the 7th year of the Kangxi reign (1668) housed in the Shanghai Museum. In all the surviving pieces, tiny figures representing Huang Xiangjian and his family can be seen trudging through the forbidding terrains of Guizhou and Yunnan. What is special about the present specimen is that, instead of focusing on the perils posed by bandits, wild beasts and maladies during the journeys between Suzhou and Yunnan, it documents a pilgrimage to the Buddhist holy mountain Jizu in Dali, Yunnan provice, capturing 31 scenic and historical spots along the way.