The scene in this painting may have been personally witnessed by Cao Xueqin

Qing Dynasty - Yuan Jiang - Scroll of Dongyuan, exhibited in the Special Exhibition Hall on the 2nd floor of the East Pavilion at the Shanghai Museum. Dongyuan was the villa of salt merchant Qiao Guozhen, located in Yangzhou Prefecture, completed in the 48th year of Kangxi (1709), but the site no longer exists. The garden had eight main buildings, all named by Qiao’s friend Cao Yin: Jutang, Jishan Tower, West Pond Poetry Society, Fenxi Pavilion, Xinting Pavilion, West Villa, Crane Hermitage, and Fisherman Hermitage. So, Cao Xueqin might really have seen this garden? 📖 In the 49th year of Kangxi (1710), Yuan Jiang recorded the splendid scenes of Dongyuan in a realistic style on the scroll. 💫 Dongyuan is embraced by wide and clear river waters, with a large paddy field on the right and a flat bridge near the village. The garden is surrounded by white walls and bamboo fences, separated by Taihu stones and courtyards, with pavilions, halls, water pavilions, corridors, and mountain pavilions. On the sides of the buildings are green bamboo and tall trees, winding corridors with flower terraces, and planted peonies, crabapple trees, and other flowers. Ancient trees stand tall and scattered in front of the halls. 🏛 The central building has clear lines and is magnificent. The interior is simply furnished, with desks and tables in several rooms holding books and scholar’s tools, reflecting the owner’s status and taste. To the left of the central building is a scenic area where peach blossoms cover the mountain and green trees provide shade. A pavilion on the mountain peak offers a bird’s-eye view of the entire garden. 🐮 In the distance, one can also see the scenery outside Dongyuan: fields and paths, houses closely packed, people driving carts, herding cattle, plowing fields, and fishing, presenting a pastoral scene. Across the river are rolling peaks with twin towers standing tall, sometimes hidden and sometimes visible in the mist and clouds, clearly distinguishable. Lotus flowers in the pond are either blooming or in bud, and the northern part of the garden is planted with tall bamboo, a lush green. ⚜️ By the water’s edge are built terraces and water pavilions. The garden’s layout is carefully planned, with trees, flowers, buildings, corridors, and pavilions arranged in a balanced and harmonious way, featuring rare birds, exotic plants, and exquisite rockeries. 🕹 At the end of the scroll is the inscription: “The splendid view of Dongyuan. Painted by Yuan Jiang in Hanshang, roughly in the year of Gengyin, in the month of Chang.” 🕹 Below are the red seals “Yuan Jiang” and “Wentao.” The beginning of the scroll has a square seal with the large characters “Dongyuan Scroll.”