Zhu Jianshen’s good omen axis

[Zhu Jianshen’s annual good omen map axis]

The annual good omen map axis, Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jianshen’s painting, silk version, color setting, 59.7 cm vertical, 35.5 cm horizontal
At the top right of the painting is the inscription of Zhu Jianshen, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty: “The persimmons are as good as you like. A pulse of spring is warm and the winds and clouds are worth thousands of miles. The painting is a good omen today, and it is like a hundred things every year.” The signature of the painting: “The imperial pen of the Xinchou Wenhua Palace in Chenghua”, and the seal is “the treasure of Guangyun”
Zhong Kui is painted in the picture. He stares at the flying bat with sharp eyes, holding Ruyi in one hand and holding the kid’s shoulder with the other; The little ghost holds a tray containing persimmons and cypress in both hands, which means “everything goes well”
Before the Ming Dynasty, hanging the Zhong Kui image was an important custom activity during the New Year festival to drive away ghosts and evil spirits. It was not until the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties that this custom gradually moved to the Dragon Boat Festival. Therefore, this “auspicious picture of the year” can be seen as a palace New Year picture of praying for good luck. This picture was painted in the seventeenth year of Chenghua (1481). It is skillful in painting, with the sharp and powerful lines of clothes, and the vivid and exaggerated figures, which shows the skilled skills of this emperor painter.