"painted in 1517, the twelfth year of the zhengde reign (1506-1521), when the painter was about forty-eight years old, this scroll illustrates two songs from the nine songs attributed to the legendary poet qu yuan (ca. 340 bce-278 bce): "the goddess of the xiang” (xiang jun) and "the lady of the xiang” (xiang furen). This is wen zhengming's earliest surviving figure painting. In the painting, the goddess and the lady of the xiang keep each other company. One walks in front, holding a feather fan and looking back. The other stands in a relaxed pose. Their flowing robes echo with relaxed and genial facial expressions. The elegant, deliberate archaic portrayal of the ladies is achieved with fine brush lines resembling long, waving loose strands of a spider's web, characteristic drapery depiction in the tradition of gu kaizhi (345-406). Light ink wash, and the application of vermilion and lead white pigments also help bring out the antique spirit. The background is left completely blank, highlighting the ethereal elegance in their motion. Wen also inscribed the related two poems on the upper part of the scroll in his trademark smooth and handsome calligraphic style. According to the inscriptions by the painter and wang zhideng, wen zhengming once asked qiu ying (ca. 1505-1552) to create a painting on this topic. Because wen zhengming was disappointed with qiu's work, he painted this scroll himself. The "antique spirit” captured by wen zhengming is distinctively different from the aesthetic in qiu ying's works. "
—the palace museum. Object Type: painting, hanging scroll. Genre: ink and light color painting. Date: 1517. Place of creation: China during the Ming dynasty. Dimensions: 100.8 × 35.6 cm. Medium: ink and color on paper. Depicted People: Xiang River goddesses. Collection: The Palace Museum. Portrait of the Goddess and the Lady of the Xiang, Wen Zhengming
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