Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

The Chinese Paintings Gallery holds a new exhibition of Chinese Landscapes from the Ashmolean Collection to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2013 (the Year of the Snake). This year, the Museum’s engagement with Chinese art and culture starts with its first exhibition programme on contemporary art: Xu Bing: Landscape Landscript. A series of programmes can be found here.

According to popular thought in the Chinese zodiac, the Snake is considered a small Chinese ‘dragon’, whose power brings people good fortune. In legends and stories, snakes are intellectual creatures that are able to transform into human beauties after thousands of years of Daoist practice. The Legend of White Snake is such an example.