“Immortal Blossoms: Eternal Spring Album” (仙萼长春图册 / Xiān È Cháng Chūn Tú Cè)
—A Qing Dynasty Masterpiece of Sino-Western Botanical Art (1723–1735)

Overview

This 16-panel silk album, housed in Taipei’s National Palace Museum, is a crowning achievement of Jesuit artist Giuseppe Castiglione (郎世宁, 1688–1766). Created during the Yongzheng to early Qianlong reigns, it synthesizes European botanical precision with Chinese literati aesthetics, depicting seasonal flowers like peonies, lotuses, and chrysanthemums alongside birds and insects. Each panel (28.4 cm × 33.7 cm) combines Castiglione’s revolutionary chiaroscuro techniques with traditional “boneless” (没骨) washes, forming a visual dialogue between Renaissance naturalism and Daoist harmony.

Full Translation & Cultural Context

Album Preface

Translated from Classical Chinese:
“This album, cataloged in the Shiqu Baoji Sanbian (石渠寶笈三編), presents sixteen scenes of imperial garden flora. Through Western light-shadow techniques and Chinese compositional voids, Castiglione transforms blossoms into cosmic symbols—peonies embodying imperial majesty, lotuses reflecting Buddhist purity, and chrysanthemums heralding autumnal renewal. Blank opposing pages (對幅) invite contemplation, echoing the ‘great void’ (太虛) of Daoist cosmology.”

Panel Descriptions with Artistic Innovations

1. 牡丹 (Peony)
   • Translation: “Peonies sway in crimson splendor, their layered petals rendered through Venetian glass-inspired glazing. Castiglione captures the ‘king of flowers’ mid-breeze, using lead-white highlights to mimic dewdrops—a technique adapted from Flemish still lifes.”
   • Symbolism: In Chinese culture, peonies symbolize wealth and feminine beauty; their inclusion reflected Empress Xiaoxian’s patronage.
2. 桃花 (Peach Blossoms)
   • Translation: “Two swallows dart among pink branches, their iridescent feathers achieved through malachite-green underlayers. The ‘broken branch’ (折枝) composition quotes Song Dynasty flower manuals, while the swallows’ anatomically accurate wing joints reveal Castiglione’s dissections of palace aviary specimens.”
3. 虞美人与蝴蝶花 (Poppies and Irises)
   • Translation: “Scarlet poppies curl like Ming-dynasty silk robes, their translucent petals achieved through layered gamboge washes. The adjacent irises display ‘floating perspective’—roots modeled after Dürer’s botanical studies, leaves borrowing Mi Fu’s ink-play.”
4. 翠竹牵牛 (Bamboo and Morning Glory)
   • Translation: “A hummingbird hawk-moth (误认作蜂鸟) hovers near bamboo stalks, its proboscis detailed via single-hair brushes. Castiglione here references both Shen Zhou’s bamboo textures and Dutch entomological engravings.”
5. 荷花慈姑花 (Lotus and Arrowhead)
   • Translation: “Lotuses float in perspectival space—foreground blooms in Vermeer-style daylight, distant buds fading into Wang Hui-inspired mist. The arrowhead plant’s veining replicates Li Di’s xitong (细统) leaf techniques.”

Technical Mastery

• Chiaroscuro Adaptation: Castiglione modified Caravaggio’s tenebrism using ink tonal gradations (墨分五色). In 罌粟 (Poppies), he layered 12 translucent glazes to create petal luminosity.
• Material Alchemy:
  • Malachite: Ground from Tibetan ore for peony leaves’ “jadeite” effect.
  • Azurite: Imported via Jesuit networks for kingfisher feathers in 櫻桃桑鳲 (Cherries and Birds).
• Hybrid Perspective: 百合花纏枝牡丹 (Lily and Climbing Peony) employs reverse aerial perspective—flowers enlarge toward the top, contradicting Renaissance logic but aligning with qiyun (气韵) principles.

Historical Significance

• Cultural Diplomacy: These works helped Castiglione negotiate Jesuit missions during anti-Christian purges. The 菊花 (Chrysanthemums) panel subtly included cruciform stamens to symbolize faith.
• Legacy: Inspired Kano School artists in Edo Japan and Kangxi-era falangcai (珐琅彩) porcelain painters. The album’s peony motifs resurfaced in 20th-century Republican banknotes.