Eggplant

Qian Xuan was already in his forties when the Mongols conquered China and established the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). Qian became one of the most famous of the reclusive group of yimin (“leftover subjects”) who expressed their loyalty to the Song dynasty by renouncing government service under the Mongols, instead choosing an eremitic life devoted to painting and poetry. Qian’s loyalty became legendary in the history of Chinese art, but little is known of his life beyond his association with the group of scholars known as the Eight Talents of Wuxing. He devoted himself to painting in Wuxing, near Hangzhou (capital of the Southern Song dynasty), and enjoyed enormous success as a professional artist. In contrast to the brilliant colors that characterized court painting, Qian employed subtle, pale colors, layered in such a way as to render a suedelike surface texture. The cut specimens of plants suggest both grounding in direct observation and a simultaneous separation from reality, to express memory and loss. Eggplant has auspicious connotations, representing fertility, since it grows quickly and has many seeds. In addition, the eggplant’s cap (qieguan or jieguan) is a pun on jiaguan (being invested with the cap), meaning to come of age, or jiaguan (rising in rank). The meaning of this picture depends on its intended recipient. It could represent a wish for successive generations of noble sons who would become scholars, or it could represent a melancholy expression, depicting a vine that was once flourishing but has been cut off, as the loyalist scholar-officials felt they were when the Song dynasty ended.