ancestors

In the Forbidden City a lone official is leaving the West Corner Gate, Xuanzhi mén. When the Emperor is mourning his ancestors it is the only place that government business can be done, to prevent his palaces being tainted by death.

Officials live solitary lives, moved regularly to remote postings and forbidden to take their parents with them. Confucian respect for ancestors and filial piety is a fundamental moral obligation, but an official who finds the demands of father and Emperor in conflict could represent a danger.

He lives separated from his own ancestors, yet the ghosts of generations of lonely bureaucrats walk alongside him.

 2025. Pen and ink on paper. 27 x 58 cm