Fresh Forest after the Rain

This painting presents a fresh mountain scene drenched by a sudden rain. The foreground has two old trees with their branches entwined. Every leaf and stem features a clear, sharply outlined form. In contrast, the surrounding orchids, bamboo, and thorns are quickly rendered with light ink washes. The artist omitted a complicated setting of hills and streams to enhance clarity, and used subtle and elegant brush techniques to capture the idyllic scenery of lush southern China.

A versatile artist of several genres, Xiang was associated with a group of artists from Huating (modern Shanghai), including Dong Qichang. The Huating artists employed conventional brushwork to build dense layers of hills in landscapes, but they also used new compositions as alternatives to traditional approaches. Grandson of a famous art collector, Xiang had access to the greatest collections in China, which allowed him to study and learn from celebrated early masters. Xiang inscribed his motivation for this lyrical composition:

Forest scents abound after the rain.
Birds enjoy clear ripples.
Overlapped mountains emerge from the distance.
The beauty appears on the hill.