NARRATOR:

Longevity Triptych is a set of ink and colour paintings on silk created by Yuan Jai in 2006. The work is presented as a triptych consisting of three vertical pieces. The two pieces on the side are narrow, measuring 265 centimetres high, 47 centimetres wide and 4.2 centimetres deep respectively. The centrepiece is wider, measuring 200.2 centimetres high, 112.2centimetres wide and 3 centimetres deep.

The side pieces, which are presented as a couplet, have the same layout. There are three circular frames on each piece. In the frames, are peach trees, peonies and stone mountains. The background of the couplet looks similar but mirrored.

The centrepiece Nine Peaches is divided into two sections. The top section is a flat horizontal image and the bottom section is vertical, in both of which is drawn a peach tree with nine peaches.

When you look closer, the couplet has rectangular frames whose red colour changes from dark to light going from outward to inward. Inside these frames are three circular frames aligned vertically, taking up three quarters of the piece’s height. From the top, the three frames are in pink, blue, and green respectively. In the pair of pink frames is a blue background. The side piece on the right shows a green peach hanging on the tree thriving with red peach blossoms, while the left one has a huge green peach embellished with three flourishing peach blossoms that are of different shades of red and amber.

Below them, in the pair of blue frames is a bright yellow background, on which a blossoming peony almost fills the entire frame. The peonies are white in colour with a touch of red, and the shapes of the petals are delicately drawn, resembling a hydrangea make of silk. The colour of the peony on the right piece has a reddish pink tone while the left one has a greyish pink tone.

In the pair of circular green frames at the bottom is a pink background, on which a stone mountain is drawn in white. The mountain on the right has layers of folds that extend forwards, with one big hole through the body with shadows in pale blue. The mountain on the left twists and tangles as if it is folding inwards with shadows in pale green. The two images seem to show the front and back view of the mountain.

Below the frames is a crooked tree. Beside the tree stand three stone mountains of different sizes. On the tree trunk grows thin branches that point straight up. At the tip of each thin branch is a peach blossom flower with five petals. All petals are of pastel colours that appear soft and elegant, matching the pale green background.

The centrepiece Nine Peaches has vibrant colours in both of its top and bottom sections. The top section illustrates a peach tree branch of pale purple colour, extending to the left with twigs and nine unripe green peaches hanging from it. The pointed tip and the suture of the fruits are touched with fuchsia pink.

The bottom section of the centrepiece features a depiction of a peach tree flourishing with flowers and fruits. On the purple tree branches grow tens and hundreds of carmine pink flowers, green pointed leaves that spread out like a fan, and nine big plump fruits. The tree-ripe fruits are green at the stalk, which gradually turn yellowish orange along the body and become dark red at the tip. The fruits appear to be around six times larger than the flowers. The peach tree fills up approximately seventy percent of the image. Below the tree are layers of rocks and rolling hills with different patterns, which looks like a collage. Examples of the patterns include round seals containing Chinese characters for fortune and longevity on a pink background, and small feverfew flowers on a light blue background. To the right of the peach tree is a smaller pine tree. The green trunk has the shape of the Chinese character for longevity and on the branches are dense needle-like leaves.

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