Southern Inspection Tour

This rare painting is related to the set of 12 Southern Inspection Tour handscrolls depicting the Kangxi emperor’s second tour of southern China in 1689, produced by court painter Wang Hui (1632-1717) in collaboration with workshop artists.
The scene depicts a Buddhist temple complex situated along the banks of the Grand Canal. The location is probably in Jinshansi, the Gold Mountain Buddhist temple in Zhenjiang. Inside the stone walls of the complex, an antiques market bustles with activity. Officials wearing yellow robes and palace servants in tasseled court caps examine and purchase porcelain, paintings, and bronze antiquities. The Green Standard Banner of the imperial army is positioned just outside the walls of the temple complex, as if securing the space.
The gem-like color and fine brushwork has led some scholars to believe that this scroll may have been intended as a gift for one of the local officials who hosted the imperial entourage during their tour. Alternatively, other scholars believe this may have been a preparatory painting for compositions in other scrolls in the Southern Tour series, which no longer exist.