SHANGHAI - The art of Chinese fan painting and calligraphy enjoys a long and distinguished history, forming a unique artistic system imbued with profound cultural connotations. It stands as a classic aesthetic example of qi yi zai dao, the Chinese philosophical notion that a tangible object can be a vessel for the Way of Nature.

The Shanghai Museum is home to an exceptional collection of fan artworks, numbering in the thousands. Spanning nearly a thousand years from the silk round fan leaves of the Northern Song dynasty to the folding fans of the modern era, the collection offers a comprehensive chronological sweep. The subject matter is also richly diverse, encompassing landscape, bird-and-flower, and figure paintings, as well as calligraphy, while the works themselves appear in different physical forms, ranging from unmounted fan leaves to fully assembled fans. Themed "The Beauty of Fan-tasy", this exhibition follows the developmental arc of fan art, selecting 100 masterpieces from the Museum's collection. These works represent various periods, from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties to the modern age. Among them are exceptionally rare treasures, including what is currently the earliest known calligraphy on a round fan leaf—Two Lines of a Seven-character Poem in Cursive Script by Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) of the Song dynasty; a rare painting on a round fan leaf from the Yuan dynasty by a renowned master—Fishing by the Autumn River by Sheng Mao; an early Ming dynasty painting on a folding fan leaf—Fishing Boat by Riverbank Trees by Xie Jin; as well as fully assembled fans, such as the one that features on its front Imitating Ni Zan's Landscape Painting by Wang Yuanqi, one of the Four Wangs of the early Qing, and on its back Miao Tong's running-script calligraphy.

Grounded in dedicated organisation and research of the Museum's collection, this exhibition seeks to trace the centuries-old artistic evolution of Chinese fan painting and calligraphy. We warmly invite its visitors to discover the fan-tastic beauty of traditional Chinese culture unfolded in these exquisite works.

2025-11-14 - 2026-02-22

Emperor Huizong (7 June 1082-4 June 1135, personal name Zhao Ji), Two Lines of a Seven-character Poem in Cursive Script, Song dynasty. Fan leaf, Ink on silk. Height 28.4 cm, width 28.4 cm © Shanghai Museum

Lin Chun, Plum Blossoms, Bamboos, and a Winter Bird, Song dynasty. Fan leaf, Ink and colours on silk. Height 24.8 cm, width 26.9 cm © Shanghai Museum

 Anonymous, Returning Drunk to the Flower Retreat, Song dynasty. Fan leaf, Ink and colours on silk. Height 23.8 cm, width 25.3 cm © Shanghai Museum

Ma Lin (1180-1256), A Pavilion on a Moonlit Night, Song dynasty. Fan leaf, Ink and colours on silk. Height 24.5 cm, width 25.2 cm © Shanghai Museum

 Anonymous, A Wagtail on the Lotus Pond, Song dynasty. Fan leaf, Ink and colours on silk. Height 22.5 cm, width 23.1 cm © Shanghai Museum

Anonymous, Corn Poppies, Song dynasty. Fan leaf, Ink and colours on silk. Height 25.5 cm, width 26.2 cm © Shanghai Museum

Zhao Mengjian (1199–1295), The Three Friends of Winter (a.k.a. Pine, Bamboo, and Plum Tree), Song dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink wash on silk. Height 24.3 cm, width 23.3 cm © Shanghai Museum

Anonymous, Mountain and Stream in Wind and Rain, Song dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink wash on silk. Height 23.8 cm, width 25.3 cm © Shanghai Museum

Anonymous, An Ape and an Egret, Song dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 23.3 cm, width 23.8 cm © Shanghai Museum

Anonymous, Hollyhocks, Song dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 21.5 cm, width 22.8 cm © Shanghai Museum

Anonymous, Returning Riders at a Bridge over the Stream, Song dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 13.8 cm, width 29.1 cm © Shanghai Museu

Sheng Mao, Fishing by the Autumn River, Yuan dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 23.4 cm, width 24.1 cm © Shanghai Museum

Sheng Mao, Selling Fish by the Snowy Stream, Yuan dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 25.2 cm, width 24.6 cm © Shanghai Museu

Anonyùous, Clearing Up after Snow, Yuan dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 29.2 cm, width 27.3 cm © Shanghai Museum

Ma Lin ((c. 1180 – after 1256), Trailing a Walking Stick on a Plain in the Countryside, Yuan dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. HHeight 23.3 cm, width 23.7 cm © Shanghai Museum

Anonymous, Spring Outing at a Palace in the Mountain, Yuan dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on silk. Height 27.5 cm, width 28.6 cm © Shanghai Museum

Xie Jin (1369–1415), Fishing Boat by Riverbank Trees, Ming dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on paper. Height 20 cm, width 50.4 cm © Shanghai Museum

Shen Zhou (1427–1509), Sparse Trees and a Small Bridge, Ming dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on gold paper. Height 18.2 cm, width 51.2 cm © Shanghai Museum

Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), "First Visit to the Red Cliff" in Regular Script, Ming dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink on gold paper. Height 19.5 cm, width 57 cm © Shanghai Museum

Tang Yin (1470–1524), "Drinking beneath the Blossoms", a Song in Running Script, Ming dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink on gold paper. Height 18.5 cm, width 53 cm © Shanghai Museum

Zhu Yunming (1461–1527), "Dwelling in Seclusion in Autumn", a Poem in Cursive Script, Ming dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink on gold paper. Height 18.8 cm, width 52 cm © Shanghai Museum

Qiu Ying (1494–1552), A Mountain Bird in the Crabapple Tree, Ming dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on gold paper. Height 19.8 cm, width 54.2 cm © Shanghai Museum

Wang Yuanqi (1642–1715), Green Mountains and White Clouds, Qing dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink and colours on paper. Height 18.1 cm, width 56.4 cm © Shanghai Museum

Shitao (1642–1707), Bamboos, Rocks, and Plum Blossoms, Qing dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink wash on paper. Height 17.5 cm, width 52 cm © Shanghai Museum

Fu Shan (1607-1684), Darkish Rocks as Roots of Clouds, Qing dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink wash on gold paper. Height 15.6 cm, width 49.6 cm © Shanghai Museum

Gu Yanwu (1613-1682), A Congratulatory Poem to Ziweng in Regular Script, Qing dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink on gold paper. Height 16.7 cm, width 52.3 cm © Shanghai Museum

Bian Yujing (1623-1665), Orchids and Rocks, Qing dynasty. Fan leaf. Ink wash on gold paper. Height 16 cm, width 48.6 cm © Shanghai Museum

Qiu Ying (1494-1552), Youjun [i.e. Wang Xizhi]'s Writing on the Fan, Ming dynasty. Hanging scroll. Ink and colours on paper. Height 280.5 cm, width 99.1 cm © Shanghai Museum

Liang Qichao (1873-1929), Running-script Calligraphy, 1927. Mounted fan. Ink on paper. Height (fan leaf) 18.5 cm, height (mounted fan) 31 cm, width 43 cm © Shanghai Museum

Zheng Wuchang (1894-1952), Corner of Mount Tiantai / A Ci-poem in Memory of Wuchang in Running Script, 1952. Mounted fan. Ink and colours / Ink on paper. Height (fan leaf) 19 cm, height (mounted fan) 33 cm, width 44 cm © Shanghai Museum