In midsummer, plants and trees reach their fullest.
Bathing in orchid-scented water, gathering a hundred herbs, wearing sachets—
this ancient custom, from Miluo in Hunan where Qu Yuan sang,
has been passed down for two thousand three hundred years.
Tracing the cultural vein of Hunan and Chu, inheriting Qu Yuan's solitary nobility; painting a sheet of fine-line light color, hiding a corner of floating light that invites blessings.
For the 2026 Dragon Boat Festival, MGC Digital proudly presents the "Observing the Angelica · Seeing Blessings" framed ornament.
With a single angelica plant, entrusting a measure of integrity; with a single frame, gathering ten thousand blessings of Hunan.
Why Hunan? Why the Dragon Boat Festival?
Qu Yuan was born in Zigui, Hubei, and served at the Chu capital Ying, but the place of his exile for his final eighteen years was Hunan. He entered the Yuan and Xiang rivers from Dongting, passing through Changde, Yuanling, Chenxi, and Xupu, and finally stopped at Miluo. The waters of Hunan heard his deepest sighs; the mountains of Hunan saw his most solitary figure. Legend says that after his death, the people of Chu threw zongzi and held boat races on the fifth day of the fifth month each year. This custom spread from Hunan throughout the world, and thus came the Dragon Boat Festival we have today.
He was a great Romantic poet, and even more the spiritual symbol of Dragon Boat Festival culture. The Dragon Boat Festival is China's, but the soul of the festival—Qu Yuan left it in Hunan.
One
Observing the Angelica | Gazing at plants and trees, seeing integrity
"Observing" is gazing, is paying tribute, is a meeting of eyes across a thousand years.
In the old land of the Three Xiang, angelica grows by the Yuan and orchid by the Li.
A plant of angelica grows from between the characters of the Li Sao, draped over Qu Yuan's body and worn at the waist during the Dragon Boat Festival.
In the image, Qu Zi sings by the Miluo River— robes fluttering, bearing lofty; in a white robe unstained by dust, wearing a sword, with stern integrity.
This image has historical basis— the loyal and pure integrity in the Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng, and the portrayals by scholars such as Guo Moruo and Huang Zhenyun, are all concentrated here.
The visual lineage comes from the solemn dignity of the bronze statue at the Qu Yuan Shrine in Zigui, from the linear integrity of Chen Hongshou's Qu Zi Singing on the Bank of the Ming dynasty, and also from the elegant bearing of Warring States literati attire in the "Figure Riding a Dragon" from Chu Tomb No. 1 at Zidanku, Changsha. Robes fluttering, brows and eyes clear and lean.
Brush your fingertips across it, and you can touch Qu Zi's warmth, and touch the echo of a thousand years.
Mugwort fills the banks, calamus grows in clusters.
Observing the angelica, one observes the integrity and purity of the Hunan and Chu land.
Two
Seeing Blessings | A sheet of auspiciousness, blessings arise of themselves
At the top of the image, a vermilion "福" (blessing) character floats in the sky.
The naked-eye 3D lenticular process breaks the limits of the flat surface—without any auxiliary equipment, the eye can see the "福" character vividly floating above the scroll, seemingly near yet far, as if descending from the clouds to the human world.
Viewed close, it is like auspicious decoration hung before the hall, within reach; viewed from afar, it is like auspiciousness floating in the sky, with blessings enduring.
Between the layered scrolls, the landscapes and integrity of the Hunan and Chu land unfold slowly.
The ochre-ink lines of poetry blend seamlessly with the image, not noisy, yet with a voice of their own.
Three
Inviting Blessings | A single ornament, peace through the seasons
The plants and human world of the Dragon Boat Festival are gathered into this frame.
Walnut-colored solid wood outer frame, mortise-and-tenon corner joints, steady and substantial.
In each opening and closing is respect for craftsmanship and the settling of time.
Within the frame, Qu Zi's nobility, the auspiciousness of plants, and the integrity of Hunan and Chu are all hidden in this touchable Dragon Boat Festival scroll.
It can stand on a desk, bookshelf, or hall— every gaze is a look across at a cultural vein of a thousand years.
"At this moment, the integrity of Hunan can be held in the palm.
For personal collection, gifting to friends, or corporate customization, all can entrust a measure of integrity."
Now, observing the angelica, one sees blessings arrive. What is observed?
First, observe the purity of plants—angelica does not compete or flaunt, yet has a distant power; it can drive away impurity and invite auspiciousness;
Second, observe the depth of cultural vein—Qu Zi sang for a thousand years, using fragrant plants to symbolize nobility, and sachets to drive away evil and invite auspiciousness;
Third, observe the arising of blessings—after gazing, blessings come of themselves, shallow giving with deep feeling, endless joy.
Giving you "Observing the Angelica · Seeing Blessings," though outwardly a sheet of scroll, within it condenses earnest feeling—borrowing the momentum of Dragon Boat Festival plants to express sincere emotion.
When you "observe" this and "see blessings," what you observe is also the sincerity of MGC Digital toward you.
Wearing Jiangli and angelica, threading autumn orchids as a girdle.
Observe the angelica plant, see blessings come.
Appendix · Creation Notes:
This image of Qu Yuan was restored by the MGC Digital team based on the Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng and interpretations by scholars through the ages such as Guo Moruo and Huang Zhenyun, through multiple expert discussions. The setting of age, choice of hairstyle, and presentation of bearing were all repeatedly deliberated, striving to be grounded in evidence.
The visual lineage blends three sources into one: the solemn dignity of the bronze statue at the Qu Yuan Shrine in Zigui, the linear integrity of Chen Hongshou's Qu Zi Singing on the Bank of the Ming dynasty, and the Warring States attire in the "Figure Riding a Dragon" from Chu Tomb No. 1 at Zidanku, Changsha.