"Banquet by Meandering Waters" refers to an elegant gathering held near a winding stream. On the third lunar month of the year 353, Wang Xizhi and his friends gathered at the Orchid Pavilion and engaged in a poetry competition. They sent cups of wine floating down a meandering creek and drank from the drifting cups as the penalty. Seen as an ideal in the Chinese literati tradition, future generations would often invoke the poetic ambiance of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering in later literary convocations. The trend had also made its way to neighboring countries, leading to such elegant occasions as the Orchid Pavilion Gathering in Japan and the Baoshi Pavilion Gathering in Korea. The brook flowing down the valley west of the National Palace Museum has a stone with “floating goblets” inscribed on it by the Japanese. Mr. Yen Chuang celebrated the Spring Purification Festival here in 1973, the event serving as a testimony to the enduring charm of the legendary Orchid Pavilion Gathering.

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       In this scene from an ancient painting, we invite visitors to digitally experience an elegant gathering. Please take a seat and wait patiently for the wine cup to drift toward you. Gently touch the glowing cup and follow the poem to join the literary celebration.

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