W560xH340mm, China
Every year on the birthday of the Queen Mother of the West, 3rd of lunar March, there will be a peach party and all the saints will be invited and feast on special peaches. A bite of these magic peaches will make one immortal but there are extremely rare, they take 3000 years to flower, 3000 to bare fruits and another 3000 years to ripe.
In the middle of the wood block print is the Queen Mother with two of female saints by her sides. Below, holding a bowl full of peaches is the Monkey King who mischievously stole some of the peaches. On the left side of the Monkey King is the God of longevity with his deer on the Monkey’s right. The crane by the God of longevity is saint Dong Fang Shuo who was so obsessed with tasting the magic peaches that he turned into a crane in order to be nearer to the peach. The 8 saints joining the party are Eight Immortals – from (left to right, top to bottom) are Philosopher Han Xiang Zi (with the xiao pipe), Philosopher Han Xiang Zi, Lan Cai He (with magic basket), Leader Lu Dong Bin (with sword), Royal Uncle Cao Guo Jiu (with castanets), Iron-Crutch Tie Guai Li, Immortal lady He Zian Gu (with magic lotus) and Elder Zhang Guo Lao. Click here to see the symbolism of the magic tools.
This word block print will make an ideal birthday present.
Come to see the actual print and many others at the
New Year Print Exhibition
MOUNTAIN FOLKCRAFT
CHINESE WOOD BLOCK PRINT COLLECTION
Mountain Folkcraft 