A fan painting by Shen E, a Qing Dynasty woman painter. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhejiang Provincial Museum has mounted an online exhibition, Li Ren Xing, to examine women as they are depicted in classical Chinese paintings. It opened on March 8, International Women's Day, and runs until March 3, 2024.

The exhibition teams up some 32 museums who have shared digital images of more than 1,000 ancient paintings in their extensive collection. And the database will expand over time to include more pictures.

The exhibition title is drawn from an eponymous poem by Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Du Fu. It offers an encyclopedic view of images of women in ancient Chinese art. And it is an investigation of the daily lives and emotions of women throughout the centuries, as well as the roles they assumed.