XIANGIU PEAK / 翔宇峰 BY WU DACHENG / 吳大成

WU DACHENG / 吳大成 (1835–1902)
Xiangiu Peak / 翔宇峰 in Fragrant Hills (557m - 1,827ft)

China

In  Fragrant Mountains (清吳大澂山水扇面), Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), 

Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on alum paper, The MET 

The Hill 
Xiangiu Peak / 翔宇峰 (557m - 1,827ft) is the highest point of the landscape complex known as The Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan / 象山)  located 25 km north west of Beijing. The park is a cool and appreciated place in summer for those wishing to escape the high temperatures of the capital.  The hills were occupied for the first time under the Jin Dynasty in 1186 and the Xiangshan Temple was built to house the Emperor during his hunting parties. But it is to the Emperor Qianlong that we owe the construction in 1745 of the largest part of the buildings. One can admire the Temple of the Clouds of Azure, the Fountain of Jade, the lake and the Summer Palace… to the skyscrapers of Beijing. Below, the botanical garden crosses the road leading to the Temple of the Lying Buddha (Wofosi). Famous for its five meter bronze lacquered coated Buddha, this temple was built under the Tang Dynasty. The best time to visit this 160 hectare park seems to be the late autumn when the leaves of the trees are dyed yellow and red. In this park, there are also pines, cypresses, maples, ginkos, fragrant orchards (apricots, pears, peaches) and many lilacs, all of which have subtle perfumes and explain the origin of the name of these hills.

The artist
The round, weighty brush strokes borrowed from the study of archaic scripts by late 19th century scholar artists are clearly seen in this fine ink landscape by Wu Dacheng.
As a Qing official, Wu Dacheng was a participant in several important events in 19th century history. When the Qing intervened in Annam in 1884 on behalf of the king against the French, Wu was sent to Tientsin to defend the city against the French attack. As governor of Guangdong, he negotiated customs duties on opium that continued to flow into the country through Canton and Macao, and without success recommended against ceding Macao to the Portuguese. As governor of Henan, he raised the standards of production in the lucrative silk and tea industries. When the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1894, Wu took troops to defend a strategic northern mountain pass. His troops were defeated and he was dismissed from his post, after which he devoted his leisure to cultivating his talents as poet, calligrapher, seal cutter, connoisseur, collector, epigrapher and painter.