After the Banquet

Paintings of flowers, vegetables, and insects were produced in China as early as the Song dynasty (960-1279), and a school of painters in Pi-ling, not far from Nanjing, kept alive the tradition for centuries thereafter, turning out meticulously drawn and colored scenes. The variety of garbage, the interest in decay, and--especially--the inclusion of ants make this handscroll exceptional. It is possible to interpret it in different ways. Perhaps the painting was presented to an elderly man who is to be identified with the butterflies, soaring over the memories of a banquet that brings to mind a feast of the Immortals. Here the banquet is the man's long and successful life--his many children (the pomegranate), his good marriage (the lotus root), and his official position (the pink).