Heavenly Longevity Realm Southern Pole Album. Twelve leaves (49.1x51.6 cm) Qing Dynasty painting. Collection of the Taipei Palace Museum-PDF

This *Tiankai Shouyu Nanzhi Tu* album should have been painted by court painters of the Qing Dynasty. The entire album consists of twelve sections, all created to celebrate birthdays, with images on the right and text on the left. The right section depicts images of immortals such as the South Pole Immortal Grandfather, the Three Pure Ones, the Heavenly Palace, Southern Mountain, the West Pool, the Penglao Islands, the Nine Stars, the Eight Immortals, Mazu, and the Five Great Mountains, among other celestial or divine figures. The left section features a four-character poem written in gold mud, with a border decorated with multi-colored gold scrolling vine patterns. This album is now preserved in the Taipei Palace Museum.

The entire album depicts immortals with the birthday star as the main subject, suggesting it was created for birthday celebrations in the Qing court. The artwork is meticulous, and the colors are vibrant. The calligraphy, written in gold mud, follows standard court style, appearing proper, dignified, and majestic, embodying the typical imperial court aesthetic.