The exhibition Rejoicing in Woods and Springs: A Journey Through Garden Cultures in China and the Wider World, jointly organized by the Palace Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, opened at the Palace Museum on April 1, 2025.This title draws from Emperor Qianlong's imperial inscription on the Gaotu Jingshe Scroll Painting displayed in the exhibition. "Woods and Springs" encapsulates the classical Chinese scholars’ idealized vision of nature. The term "rejoicing in woods and springs" reflects the timeless pursuit to poetic dwelling within gardens. Through six refined garden-related activities: "Elegant Gatherings", "Connoisseurship and Collection", "Mountain Excursions", "Meditative Retreats", "Flower Appreciation" and "Musical Revelry", over 200 representative exhibits from both China and beyond are carefully selected. These exhibits ingeniously integrate garden landscapes with literature, drama, and historical narratives. Rooted in Chinese classical gardens while embracing global garden cultures, the exhibition initiates a dialogue across time and space, showcasing the artistic beauty of Chinese and foreign gardens and unveiling the philosophies they embody.
Among the Chinese works on display are artifacts related to the private garden of Northern Song scholar Wang Shen, the Zen garden at Dinghui Temple of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Suzhou, and Emperor’s Qianlong Garden in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Foreign representatives include artifacts illustrating the gardens of Pompeian-style villas in Italy, medieval monastery gardens, the grand gardens of the Palace of Versailles, Edo-period Japanese gardens and Monet's garden. In terms of presentation, architectural models, restorative models, and space reconstruction are utilized to vividly demonstrate the wisdom behind the construction of the gardens in the Forbidden City.
The objects encompass not only calligraphy and paintings by renowned Chinese masters from various dynasties, objects and treasures from the imperial collections of the Qing Palace, and classical furniture, but also include masterpieces of Western oil paintings, sculptures, Japanese ukiyo-e prints, and Persian miniature paintings. Among them, about 70 precious artifacts on loan from the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Yale Center for British Art, the Palace of Versailles, the National Museum of China and the Tianjin Museum.
The exhibition is set to run until June 29.
Source: Palace Museum