ZHANG DA QIAN (1899-1983)

Ink on Paper
China , Zhang Da Qian (1899-1983), dated 1946

"The Rivers Xiao and Xiang"

The painting is a copy of Dong Yuan's "The Rivers Xiao and Xiang" by Zhang Daqian in 1946. Zhang Daqian was good at imitating the ancients' and his works were comparable to the real ones.
"Xiao-xiang" is shorthand for the rivers Xiao and Xiang in Hunan province to the south of the Yangtze River.
The two rivers drain into Dongting Lake. The term "Xiao-xiang" also refers to the ancient state of Chu.
In the painting, the mountains are rolling in-group, the clouds and fog are dim, and the rivers, trees and stones are all enveloped in the ethereal haze, which create a vast, dreamy and quiet atmosphere.