Homecoming of an Imperial Concubine
This painting shows one scene of an episode from the novel A Dream of Red Mansions. Jia Yuanchun, Jia Zheng’s eldest daughter, was conferred the title of highest-ranking imperial concubine. The emperor had granted that Yuanchun would pay a visit to her parents at the upcoming Lantern Festival. In order to welcome the homecoming imperial concubine, the Jia family became busier and built a garden of grand views for the occasion. On the day of the Lantern Festival, Jia Zheng’s mother led all members of her clan to wait by the main entrance to the garden. Accompanied by a swarm of imperial maids, Yuanchun came back on a sedan chair on their shoulders. After Yuanchun was seated, Jia Zheng’s mother (Yuanchun’s grandmother) and Madam Wang (Yuanchun’s mother) met with her. They faced one another in silence; they just sobbed. When the time came to leave, Yuanchun held the hands of her grandmother and mother and asked them to stay healthy.
Editor: Liu Fang
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