Liu Songnian 刘松年

This painting illustrates a scholarly gathering that is said to have been held at the Orchid Pavilion in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province (southern China) in 353 AD. In the pavilion on the far right is Wang Xizhi (303-361 AD), one of China’s most famous calligraphers, writing out the text of the “Preface to the Lanting Collection” (Lanting ji xu). This text commemorates the poetry competition being held. When a cup of wine floating in the stream stopped before an individual, that person had to compose a poem or forfeit his turn and drink the wine - certainly not a bad option!