Firing Elixirs at Jade Grotto

Qiu Ying (仇英)

Artist Qiu Ying (仇英)

Date Unknown

Medium Ink and color on silk (blue-green), main painting 30.5×357.4 cm

Collection National Palace Museum, Taipei

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About the Artist

Qiu Ying (仇英)

Chinese (1494-1552) · Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)

one of the "Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty," was a painter renowned for his meticulous brushwork and vibrant blue-green landscapes. Born into a humble family in Taicang, he trained initially as a lacquer artisan before studying under Zhou Chen. His style synthesized Tang-Song traditions with Ming courtly precision, blending sumptuous mineral pigments (zhongcai) and poetic lyricism. Masterpieces like Spring Morning in the Han Palace (Han Gong Chun Xiao Tu) exemplify his virtuosity in narrative detail, depicting over 100 figures and architectural intricacies within a handscroll format. A Celestial Realm in the Peach Blossom Spring (Taoyuan Xianjing Tu) merges layered mountain vistas with ethereal atmospheres, redefining blue-green landscape conventions. Though few authenticated works survive—such as Red Cliff Scroll (Chibi Tu) and Sword Gate Pass (Jian Ge Tu)—his technical brilliance in imitating ancient masters and pioneering genre scenes left an indelible mark on Suzhou School painters and later professional artists.

Complete Handscroll Image

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Artwork Story

This scroll, Firing Elixirs at Jade Grotto, painted by Qiu Ying from the Ming Dynasty. It shows a group of Daoist hermits crossing the sea to gather on a spring mountain island. They’re probably there to get the elixir that makes you live forever. In front of a cave among peach blossoms and green pines, they’re waiting for the elixir to finish cooking. The painting ends with a hermit playing the zither on a mountain stream. There’s also a note by Wen Zhengming after the painting. The scroll is now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

Jade Grotto usually refers to the cave dwellings of Daoist hermits. In ancient times, alchemists thought they could get the immortality elixir or turn stone into gold by burning cinnabar in a furnace. That’s what they called alchemy. The legendary elixir and the miracle medicine that brings people back to life might be far from us, but they often show up as interesting, mythological subjects in paintings and calligraphy.

Firing Elixirs at Jade Grotto detail01 HD Download

The Search for Endless Life

This painting shows something that was super important in ancient Chinese Daoism: trying to find a way to live forever. The people in the painting are scholars and hermits. They’re trying to make a special medicine, like an elixir, by heating up minerals in a furnace. They thought this magic pill could make them live forever or even turn metal into gold. They never found a way to live forever, but their experiments were still important. They were like early scientists, and their work helped medicine and science move forward.

The Perfect Hermit’s Life

Way back in China, a lot of smart people decided to leave the cities and live in nature as hermits. They thought quiet places were great for thinking and growing spiritually. This painting shows a peaceful cave behind a peach tree forest. Daoists felt that being in nature wasn’t just about pretty views. It was about feeling a part of everything. The hermit playing music shows that art was also part of their search for peace and wisdom.

Changing Yourself Inside

Making a pill was okay, but Daoists also worked on making themselves better people. They believed they could use meditation and breathing to clean their bodies and minds. The idea was to create peace and wisdom inside themselves. The hermit playing music represents this idea. Real immortality wasn’t just about living forever, it was about finding peace and being in sync with nature.