Peach Fruit of Three Thousand Years

Wu Changshuo (1844 - 1927), was a cross-age painting master at the end of Qing Dynasty. In his early years, Wu Changshuo studied calligraphy carving and had very high attainments. He began to study painting when he was 34 years old and learned from Shanghai art giant Ren Bonian. Ren spoke highly of Wu’s painting vigor. Inspired by Ren, Wu Changshuo blended calligraphy skills to painting, and propelled literati painting tradition of "infusing calligraphy to painting" to a high stage.
Wu Changshuo was not quite good at modeling, so he avoided such disadvantage and select flowers and birds as painting objects which do not require much realistic skill and can give full play to painting skill and creativity. This Peach Fruit of Three Thousand Years is a representative work. In Chinese paintings, vegetables, fruits and flowers are often endowed with special symbolic meanings, for example, peach symbolizes longevity and it has always been favored by painters. In this painting, there are two peaches; one is red and the other yellow. They have bright colors, presented in boneless painting skill; peach leaves are well arranged, outlined with dark and light ink; on the left side, a branch is arcing down, breaking the stiffness of two longitudinal branches, and thus making the image full of varieties. Peaches painted by Wu Changshuo in vigorous brush strokes seem to be rare and sweet, and are endowed with more connotation of "longevity and health"