Oath of the Peach Garden, from Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Matsumura Goshun · c. 1780 · Cleveland Museum of Art
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From the museum
This painting depicts a pivotal scene from the classic Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Three men, Liu Bei, seen to the left, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, seen to the right, become sworn brothers amid peach blossom trees. Set toward the end of China’s Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE), the episode features the tagline “We seek not to be born on the same day but hope that we may die on the same day.” Written in the 1300s, the first published translation in Japanese appeared around 1690, after which it exploded in popularity. Matsumura Goshun was trained in literati art by Yosa Buson and Maruyama Ōkyo.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Matsumura Goshun (Japanese, 1752–1811)
- Date
- c. 1780
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions
- Image: 28.2 x 25.2 cm (11 1/8 x 9 15/16 in.); Including mounting: 114.3 x 44.2 cm (45 x 17 3/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- Japan
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · On view · 235A Japanese
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0
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- “Bunjin” in Japanese ArtJun 21, 2026 – Jun 20, 2027
- The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean ArtApr 15, 2011 – Aug 21, 2011
- Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of ArtJul 15, 2001 – Sep 16, 2001
- Asian Autumn: Splendid Variety: 18th-Century Art in JapanNov 16, 1993 – Mar 6, 1994
- The Year in Review for 1987Feb 24, 1988 – Apr 17, 1988
