In the long history of Chinese literati culture, three gatherings are remembered above all others.
The first was the Lanting Yaji, or the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, in the year 353. On that day, master calligrapher Wang Xizhi and more than 40 scholars gathered in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, to compose poetry beside a winding stream. Wang, slightly drunk, wrote a preface after the gathering while compiling the collected poems. It became known as one of the greatest works of Chinese calligraphy, the Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion.
The gathering happened only once. But that single moment has echoed through centuries.
The second was the Xiyuan Yaji, or the Elegant Gathering in the Western Garden, of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). It took place in Kaifeng, Henan province, in the garden of a royal son-in-law. Sixteen of the era's most brilliant minds, including poet Su Shi, gathered there. Painter Li Gonglin captured the scene. Calligrapher Mi Fu wrote the inscription. Together, they preserved the image of that golden age forever.
The third took place in Bacheng, a small water town in Kunshan, Jiangsu province. Known as the Yushan Yaji, or the Jade Mountain gathering, it convened more than 180 times over three decades during the late Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), drawing over 400 scholars. It produced not just poetry and painting, but a new form of music: Kunshan qiang, the precursor to Kunqu Opera, one of China's oldest surviving opera forms.
On May 9, a fourth tradition arrived in Bacheng — one with its own long lineage. The Haitang Yaji, known in English as the Crabapple Blossom Gathering or Blossoms of Wisdom, began in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when Prince Kung invited scholars to compose poetry under the crabapple trees of his Beijing mansion.
During the years when Fu Jen Catholic University was located at the mansion from 1937 to 1952, the event flourished under the patronage of chancellor Chen Yuan. But war and social upheaval later silenced it.
In 2011, at the urging of renowned scholar Zhou Ruchang, Prince Kung's Palace Museum decided to revive the gathering. The first restored session was held later that year.
Throughout its 15 sessions, the Haitang Yaji has developed into a model integrating poetry composition, intangible cultural heritage performances, archival exhibitions, and academic forums. From its Beijing origins, it has traveled to Tianjin, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and now Kunshan, Jiangsu province.
"Each of these (first) three gatherings had its own medium," notes Lu Wenjie, deputy director of Prince Kung's Palace Museum. "The Orchid Pavilion is distinguished by its calligraphy, the West Garden by its painting, and the Jade Mountain gathering by its poetry and prose — and through poetry, it further ventured into the creation of opera," Lu adds.
The Haitang Yaji, Lu explains, belongs to a different category, as it continues to be a living tradition.