Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Medium
hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
image: 28.2 × 25.2 cm · including mounting: 114.3 × 44.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1987.35
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
Matsumura Goshun was trained in literati art by Yosa Buson and Maruyama Okyo. Here, he depicted "Oath of the Peach Garden," a scene from the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The three warriors Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei became sworn brothers in a ceremony amid peach blossom trees. Matsumura’s painting follows the example of Buson’s Evening Banquet at the Peach and Pear Blossom Garden, inspired by a 16th-century Li Bai poem.