Begonia and a Bird

This album of twelve leaves was created in the autumn of 1670 as a collective birthday tribute to an eminent statesman respectfully addressed as “Xiaoweng” (Venerable Elder Xiao). Twelve artists contributed paintings while poets inscribed complementary verses on facing pages. Nearly every artist humbly signed himself as zhi (“your subordinate”) or zhi xia (“one serving under you”), revealing the recipient’s exceptional political stature. The poems evoke imperial gardens, mounted processions, and western military campaigns, further suggesting Xiaoweng’s close association with the Qing court. Such albums were not merely works of art but important social objects, circulated among officials and literati as prestigious gifts that expressed loyalty, reinforced patronage, and commemorated shared cultural and political relationships.