Qing dynasty art revealing the reasons for number 8 myths
8 Qing dynasty art pieces featured with 8 modern artworks
Set of Eight Hanging Panels with Famous Landscape Scenes from Canton (Duck detail), Late Qing dynasty or early Republican period. Photos Courtesy of University Museum and Art Gallery
Qing dynasty art
Qing dynasty art and craft, along with contemporary examples, play a crucial role in understanding the exhibition 8 Time 8 and the Chinese mythology related to the number 8.
Set of Eight Hanging Panels with Famous Landscape Scenes from Canton (Cathedral detail), Qing dynasty art, Photos Courtesy of University Museum and Art Gallery
The symmetrical shape of the number 8 symbolises an endless cycle, a constant flow of energy, balance, harmony and infinity. In Cantonese-speaking communities, the word for number 8 is a homonym for wealth and prosperity.
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Curator Dr Harald Kraemer intended to create a storytelling exhibition by selecting eight sets of Qing dynasty art and artefacts from the Gallery’s collection, as well as eight series from contemporary artists.
Multiple Meanings of 8
The multiple meanings of the number eight provide a cohesive theme that draws together Qing dynasty crafts and modern art, enabling new connections and inspirations.
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A key work of the exhibition, 8 Time 8 at the University Museum and Art Gallery of the University of Hong Kong, is the Set of Eight Hanging Panels with Famous Landscape Scenes from Canton silk paintings.
Set of Eight Hanging Panels with Famous Landscape Scenes from Canton (Deer detail), Late Qing dynasty or early Republican period, Silk, mounted in mother-of Pearl inlaid black wood frame, Photos Courtesy of University Museum and Art Gallery
There are three rows: the top represents the story of the Eight Immortals; in the middle, there are depictions of birds, plants, and various kinds of animals; at the bottom are landscape scenes from Canton.
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There is a story behind every image, whether it be an Immortal, a flower, an animal, or even a landscape.
Symbol of eternal partnership
For example, the Mandarin ducks are a symbol of eternal partnership – when one finds the other, they remain together for life. When one dies, the other one will die a week later.
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Upon close inspection of the bottom panels, you will see two foreigners standing, a procession of monks, a little temple and steamships. There is a cathedral, which suggests that this was created in the 1870s and indicates that these works do not depict a fictitious landscape.
Qing dynasty art & contemporary art
The exhibition combines Qing dynasty art with those of contemporary artists.
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Yau Wing Fung (b.1990), a Hong Kong-based artist, has painted the same landscape multiple times, each in a different season, and then positioned them above or alongside each other.
Yau Wing Fung Meta 2
We have spring, winter, and summer, but then there are the clouds. The clouds appear to be permanent.
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They are more like sculptures. The landscape changes with the seasons, but the clouds are always there, linking them to the Immortals.
Meta-2, 2023, Yau Wing Fung, Ink and colour on paper, Qing dynasty art
Likewise, there is no difference between the colour of the sky and the colour of the lake. Above, like below, below, like above, it’s as if the sky and the lake are one, two parts of one coin.
Dr Kraemer positioned Fung’s artwork opposite that of Hong Kong photographer Daphne Alexis Ho (b.1975).
Daphne Alexis Ho
This commissioned series of eight starts with water and ends with the sky. In between are combinations of trees, water, rocks, and sky, linked by a golden line that runs through them.
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Ho purposely ripped the photographs and then glued them back together in a manner similar to the Japanese technique known as kintsugi, which involves putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold.
Left to Right: Water / Water Tree / Tree Earth / Earth Water / Water Sky / Earth Sky / Sky 2025, Daphne Alexis Ho, Qing dynasty art
This can represent a multitude of ideas, for example, that nature is broken, and we are, to some extent, responsible. Alternatively, it can represent a line that combines all these five elements: water, earth, wood, sky (or air), united by metal (gold), refined by fire.
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In the next room, the exhibition aims to create a space in balance, with walls that speak to each other in a kind of counterbalance. On one side, there is more order, and on the other, a bit more chaos. But order and chaos are again also like two parts of the same coin.
Set of Eight Screens with the Eight Immortals and Carved Decorations, Late Qing dynasty, Wood
Only order is not good. Only chaos is also not good. Chaos can be a source of creativity; order establishes boundaries, patterns, and controls that can harness creativity. We need both.
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The Eight Immortals epitomise chaos and order, representing a diverse cross-section of humanity.
8 immortals
They encompass a wide range of social strata, from the wealthy and noble to the poor and humble, as well as the young and the elderly, incorporating both males and females across various characteristics and professions.
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The Eight Immortals are meant to embody the idea that spiritual enlightenment and transcendence are attainable by all.
Set of Eight Screens with the Eight Immortals and Carved Decorations, Late Qing dynasty, Wood
They can be distinguished by their attributes, as in the Set of Eight Screens with the Eight Immortals and Carved Decorations. It starts with General Zhongli Quan. He was tired of fighting when he met an old man in the forest who shared the meaning of the Dao, convincing him to stop warring.
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He became the first Immortal, with instructions to find others who could become Immortals. The former general learned alchemy and was able to turn stones into gold so he could alleviate poverty. He can be identified by his bare stomach and magical fan.
Set of Eight Screens with the Eight Immortals and Carved Decorations, Late Qing dynasty, Wood
Cao Guojiu was the brother-in-law of Song dynasty Emperor Renzong. He renounced a carefree life at the imperial court to become a teacher of Daoism. He is recognisable by his courtly dress, sceptre and wooden clappers (paiban).
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A calabash gourd, bat and crutch are the attributes of Li Tieguai. His strength of mind was so strong that he could travel out of body to study Daoism with Laozi.
Eight–panel screen with paintings on marble
However, his irresponsible disciple neglected his physical body, forcing the Immortal to inhabit the body of a recently deceased beggar. He is famous for his excessive drinking, his magic sword, and his bravery in hunting demons.
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Lu Dongbin, with his demon-killing sword and Daoist fly-whisk, is famous for his poetry as well as bouts of drinking and amorous adventures. Before becoming an Immortal, he had to pass ten trials to prove his worth.
Lotus is purity & peach is beauty
He Xiangu was the daughter of an official who tried to marry her to the village idiot, who happened to be rich. Instead, she devoted herself to helping others. Her strict asceticism and chastity earned her a place with the Immortals. She is often depicted carrying a lotus flower, peach or sheng-reed organ. The lotus represents her purity, while the peach symbolises beauty and immortality.
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Lan Caihe is often depicted wearing a torn blue dress, carrying a flower basket, and wearing only one shoe. He is said to be able to predict the future through song.
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Han Xiangzi loved the daughter of the Dragon King, who, in anger, imprisoned his daughter for a thousand years. In anguish, he played his flute, which touched the hearts of the other Immortals, who then agreed to transform him into an Immortal so he could wait for her.
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Zhang Guolao is often shown riding on a magic mule, which can be folded and stored in his pocket. He is the patron saint of artists and childless couples.
Part of the Boulder series, 2024-25, Adrian Falkner, Qing dynasty art
Complementing screens depicting the Eight Immortals are paintings by Adrian Falkner, a Swiss painter and street artist. Under the name SMASH137, he participated in HKwalls 2024. For this installation, he cut up his canvases and reassembled them in a new way.
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Destruction serves as the foundation for construction of something new, following the principle of cause and effect and creating the possibility of a never-ending story.
Set of Eight Screens with Figures, Flowers and Symbols (detail) , Late Qing dynasty, Wood with inlaid stones, including jade
Photo Courtesy of University Museum and Art Gallery
The Set of Eight Screens with Figures, Flowers and Symbols begins with three men tasting vinegar. They represent Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian perspectives and are respectful of one another.
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As the provenance of many panels like this is unknown, distinctive hairstyles and clothing are what curators use to understand the stories they represent.
Set of Eight Screens with Figures, Flowers and Symbols (detail) , Late Qing dynasty, Wood with inlaid stones, including jade
Photo Courtesy of University Museum and Art Gallery
The Eight Woodcuts of Figures and Narratives offer entertaining narratives of family life featuring Immortals.
Each offers advice, such as being hospitable, disciplining children, respecting the elderly and the family home, having courage, and displaying mercy.
Eight Woodcuts of Figures and Narratives, Late Qing dynasty or early Republican period, Wood 2
In the days before ubiquitous entertainment, this was an effective way to encourage good behaviour.
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The next room offers more tranquility than the previous one. Here, we have two renowned German painters, Arvid Boecker (b.1964) and Klaus Merkel (b.1953), each with a serial narrative hidden in their work.
18.02.02, Master Slave System (afterglow), 2016-18, Klaus Merkel, Oil on canvas
Klaus Merkel incorporates elements from his other paintings into his work, creating an inventory of ideas. His painting about paintings asks, where are the boundaries?
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How can a form transfer into many forms without losing its essence? Am I looking at a microcosm or a macrocosm? Is the sum of parts more than the parts because they are related to each other?
16.07.03, Master Slave System (afterglow), 2016-18, Klaus Merkel, Oil on canvas
On closer examination, you begin to see differences. Some elements are arranged in a geometrical order; others are free. There are different brushstrokes, various colours, and different forms, as well as repetitions that are not quite the same.
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What both Boecker and Merkel are doing is training our perception of details, building up an inventory that can be played with, like a musical symphony.
Folding Screen with the Eight Immortals and Animals, Late Qing dynasty or early Republican period, Carved decorations, wood
So, it is like a musical piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, with one sequence at the beginning, followed by variations, all the while maintaining a recognisable sequence.
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All these rich details and different single solutions combine to change our appreciation experience, telling a greater story.
Folding Screen with the Eight Immortals and Animals, Late Qing dynasty or early Republican period, Carved decorations, wood
In the same way, the stories of the Eight Immortals offer different details to appreciate, both in microcosmic and macrocosmic forms.
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The exhibition shows that appreciating details found in old Chinese furniture can also be applied to appreciating contemporary paintings. The stories each tell enrich our ability to enjoy the different art forms.
Eight Chairs with Figures, Late Qing dynasty or early Republican period, Wood and mother-of-pearl
Eight Chairs with Figures is both the starting and end point of the exhibition. Each chair has a carved wooden diorama of children pretending to be adults.
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A connoisseur might be tempted to unravel the details and find inspiration in these old Chinese chairs. Perhaps there are also a few eights hidden in this fine example of Qing dynasty art.
Text and photos Martin Wray
