Artist: Yuan Jiaqi
Dimensions (excluding Dushan jade base): height 44cm × width 32cm × depth 25cm; Weight: 28kg
Creation time: 1988-1992
Material: This piece is carved from a sky-blue turquoise of pure, even color and fine texture, notable for its excellent natural form. Verified and authenticated by the Gemological Institute of China University of Geosciences, the Royal Academy in the United Kingdom, and other experts, it was identified at the time as the largest known piece of natural turquoise rough in China and possibly the world, making it an exceptionally rare and precious treasure.
Subject and Artistic Style:
The work is inspired by a traditional Chinese mythological theme. The front depicts eighty-seven immortals making a pilgrimage to Mount Wudang; the reverse presents evocative scenes of moonlit Wudang, cranes returning to their roosts, and pilgrims making their way back at night. Based on the natural form and veining of the jade, the artist employs a technique that balances meticulous carving with expressive freedom. The figures are rendered with precision and vitality, their forms dignified and elegant, embodying the refined, transcendent bearing associated with immortals. Throughout the composition, mist swirls among overlapping mountain ranges; the Golden Hall rises aloft amid ancient pines and cypresses; pavilions and terraces, bridges and flowing water unfold in succession. Within this grand and solemn vision resides a vast, ethereal atmosphere, evoking in the viewer a sense of transcendence as if enveloped in clouds and lifted beyond the mundane.
Awards and Honors:
Designated as a national-level treasured artifact under Document No. 8 of the Ministry of Light Industry, 1992;
Awarded the highest national honor, the “Zhenjue Cup” (Gold Award), and the title “China’s Unique Masterpiece” at the China Unique Products International Exhibition and Evaluation, 1994.
Gold Award at the Grand Exhibition of Traditional Chinese Arts and Crafts (Beijing 2008), organized by the Chinese National Arts and Crafts Museum and the China National Arts and Crafts Society in 2008.
