Dream Journey to Rivers and Mountains

In 1649, the former Ming dynasty official Cheng Zhengkui emerged from retirement in south China to serve the new Manchu Qing court in Beijing. Thereafter, he resolved to paint and present as gifts to his fellow officials an ambitious series of more than one hundred scrolls under the title Dream Journey Among Rivers and Mountains. “Dream Journey,” literally “to travel while reclining,” suggests a tour that is purely visionary. This work is likely one of nearly forty scrolls that reportedly survive from the series. Although painted in Beijing, Cheng’s imagery clearly depicts the low-lying hills, valleys, rivers, and waterfalls distinctive to south China, where intellectuals were relatively isolated from the new, alien regime. His tranquil style integrates subtle elements of earlier masters.