A large 'female immortals' painting, Yuan - Ming dynasty | 元至明 《仙女駕雲圖》設色布本

This piece depicts a magnificent procession of celestial figures dressed in long flowing robes and embellished with luxurious jewellery. A jardinière in the form of a bronze censer sets the scene and leads the eye towards the figures and their swaying robes, which endow the composition with a sense of animation. In Taoism, female immortals were fundamental manifestations of the yin force, and complemented the yang (male) force. The vital importance of yin is expressed in a passage of the Daode jing [The Scripture of the Dao and its Virtue], attributed to Laozi, translated in the catalogue to the exhibition Taoism and the Arts of China, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, p. 275: The Valley Spirit [the Tao] never dies. It is named the Mysterious Female. And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang. It is there within us all the while; Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry.

Stylistically this painting follows in the linear style of the painter Wu Zongyuan (active in the early 11th century), who was in turn inspired by the Tang muralist Wu Daoizi (active c. 710 – c. 760). One of the most talented painter of Daoist subjects in the Song period, a handscroll by Wu Zongyuan painted with a procession of immortals dressed in similar flowing robes, was included ibid., cat. no. 74.

Compare also paintings made for the Water and Land Ritual (Shuilu hua), which feature elegantly dressed immortals standing among billowing clouds, such as a set of four paintings, including one of female immortals, from the Baoning temple, Shanxi province,and now in the Shanxi Provincial Museum, Taiyuan, included in the exhibition Imperial China. The Living Past, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992, cat. no. 57.1.

This piece depicts a magnificent procession of celestial figures dressed in long flowing robes and embellished with luxurious jewellery. A jardinière in the form of a bronze censer sets the scene and leads the eye towards the figures and their swaying robes, which endow the composition with a sense of animation. In Taoism, female immortals were fundamental manifestations of the yin force, and complemented the yang (male) force. The vital importance of yin is expressed in a passage of the Daode jing [The Scripture of the Dao and its Virtue], attributed to Laozi, translated in the catalogue to the exhibition Taoism and the Arts of China, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, p. 275: The Valley Spirit [the Tao] never dies. It is named the Mysterious Female. And the Doorway of the Mysterious Female Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang. It is there within us all the while; Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry.

Stylistically this painting follows in the linear style of the painter Wu Zongyuan (active in the early 11th century), who was in turn inspired by the Tang muralist Wu Daoizi (active c. 710 – c. 760). One of the most talented painter of Daoist subjects in the Song period, a handscroll by Wu Zongyuan painted with a procession of immortals dressed in similar flowing robes, was included ibid., cat. no. 74.

Compare also paintings made for the Water and Land Ritual (Shuilu zhao), which feature elegantly dressed immortals standing among billowing clouds, such as a set of four paintings, including one of female immortals, from the Baoning temple, Shanxi province,and now in the Shanxi Provincial Museum, Taiyuan, included in the exhibition Imperial China. The Living Past, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992, cat. no. 57.1.

本幅描繪一眾仙人列隊前行，場面宏大，仙人身披飄逸長袍，佩戴華麗瓔珞珠寶。畫面以一青銅香爐式盆景點綴其間，引導觀者視線轉向人物及其搖曳的衣袂，賦予整幅構圖生動的韻律感。於道教而言，女仙乃「陰」之本源化身，與「陽」（男性）相輔相成，在陰陽系統中至關重要，所以相傳為老子所著之《道德經》曰：

「谷神不死，是謂玄牝。玄牝之門，是謂天地根。綿綿若存，用之不勤。」

就風格而言，本畫承襲了北宋畫家武宗元（活躍於十一世紀初）的線描技法，而武氏之畫風又深受唐代壁畫大師吳道子（活躍於約710至760年）所啟發。武宗元乃宋代繪畫道教題材最傑出之畫師之一，前述展覽圖錄亦收錄一幅其所繪之仙人列隊手卷，畫中仙人同樣身披飄逸長袍，見前書，編號74。

亦可比較作水陸法會之用之水陸畫，畫中常見衣著華麗之仙人立於祥雲之間。例如山西寶寧寺舊藏、現存於太原山西博物院之一組四幅水陸畫（其中一幅繪有女仙），曾展出於悉尼新南威爾斯美術館1992年舉辦之《Imperial China. The Living Past》展覽，見圖錄編號57.1。