Four large oil paintings depicting activities in each of the season from Chinese life in the early 19th Century. The set is discussed by Carl Crossman in The China Trade: 'Each painting is large by export standards and of stunning quality...The fact that paintings of this size and subject matter were done for trader illustrates the westerners' overwhelming interest in the depiction of various facets of Chinese domestic life'.

Crossman describes the authorship of these paintings as being by a follower of Spoilum, possibly Fatqua. He was not known to sign his oil paintings but a winter scene sold at auction in 2009 bore his stamp in red on the reverse. Crossman also notes examples of paintings by Spoilum which show black/grey under-drawing which one can see here, particularly around the clouds and the dragon boat in canvas depicting Spring. Three paintings in the Sze Yuan Tang Collection (see Patrick Conner, Paintings of the China Trade - The Sze Yuan Tang Collection of Historic Paintings, Hong Kong 2013) are very closely related to this set, and may well be by the same hand. No. 167 shows a very similar Winter Scene with archers, while no. 169 is a pair of river landscapes including dragon boat races and the arrival of a mandarin in his ceremonial boat.

1. Spring

Spring is heralded by the Dragon Boat Race during the Dragon Boat Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival that takes place every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, usually in the late spring. The festival is over 2,500 years old, and its origins have been explained in various ways. One theory is that people believed that the fifth month of the lunar calendar was an unlucky month in which plagues were often prevalent, and therefore activities to prevent disease and pray for good luck were carried out on the festival; another, more widespread theory, is that the festival commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 BC), who, after being exiled from his country, chose to drown himself in the river on the fifth day of the fifth month. Therefore, grieving people threw food into the river to keep the fish away from his corpse.

This painting depicts one of the most important events of the Dragon Boat Festival: dragon boat racing. It was believed that the faster the boat moved, the sooner it would send away plagues and misfortunes. On the river, a tense dragon boat race is in full swing (with another pair of rivals racing in the distance of the scene). The athletes on the boats are portrayed in great detail: the chief commander at the bow is waving his banner high; each boat has a drummer and gong player performing vigorously, hoping to keep the spirits of the team high. The ceremonial nature of the dragon boat race is highlighted by the figures under the parasols - each of them holding a statue of a deity.

Such an important event certainly attracts a lot of visitors. The riverbank is already crowded with spectators: men sitting on the ground, women with parasols looking for the best view, traders pausing with their baskets of goods, and even a child hurrying to watch the game holding his father's sleeve. A man in white is walking back in what appears to be a sullen manner - is his team about to lose? If you have enough money to spare, you can even sit in a 'luxury box' - a boat on the river - to experience the excitement of the race up close, as the tourists in the bottom left of the picture do. In summary, the painting is full of vivid and intriguing details.

2. Summer

Summer events are represented by the Ghost Festival, also known as Yulan Festival. The seventh lunar month is regarded as Ghost Month in many East Asian culture, when people celebrate the Ghost Festival on its 15th day. It’s a blend of Taoist and Buddhist beliefs and rituals since ancient time. It is believed that on this day the gates to hell will be opened and the souls will return to earth. Therefore, people burn paper 'ghost money', incense, offer food and release water lanterns to show respect to their ancestors and comfort the wandering ghosts who have no family to worship them.

The painting innovatively focuses on the activity on the river. In the lower left of the scene, a Buddhist ritual is taking place in a boat draped with lanterns, which is indicated by the two wooden plaques behind the paddler and the words on the lantern at the stern. On the lantern is the Chinese character for " Chan 禪", the Chinese name for Zen Buddhism. The plaques read, from right to left, "Yu Lan Sheng Hui, Shui Lu Chao You 盂蘭勝會，水陸超幽", which literally means that on the day of Yu Lan Festival 盂蘭, a great collective event 勝會is held to release the spirits from suffering 超幽from the water 水and land 陸. The monk in red robes and an elaborate hat was probably the head of the ritual - he was leading four monks in grey robes in chanting sutras and praying over the dead. At the front of the cabin, there are several musicians accompanying the chanting, while at the bow three statues of deities are placed to receive the chanting.

There are also some smaller boats on the river - people are releasing river lanterns. The lanterns are made of coloured paper in the shape of lotus flowers - in Chinese, the characters for lotus and river are homophonic, and the lotus also contains iconographic meaning in Buddhism. Such lanterns are released to honor the spirits of the deceased and guide the path to the next life for the water ghosts who died from drowning.

The author has cleverly placed the more crowded events at the far distance of the scene. Let us turn our attention to the paifang - a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch structure - on the shore, where the bright yellow light indicates a lively lantern fair is likely to be in progress. We can even see some of the group of visitors looking at the lanterns.

What is particularly remarkable is the realistic depiction of the moonlight shining through the clouds; we can even see the contours of the clouds illuminated by the moonlight, demonstrating the artist's proficiency in Western oil painting techniques that express a sense of space.

3. Autumn

In the autumn, when the leaves are turning yellow, the artist shows a local official - or possibly a Hong merchant - greeting a superior official on a visit. The group of soldiers on the shore, dressed in armour and carrying bow and arrow bags, suggest that the visitor is probably a military official. Through the hollow window of the boat, we can see the visiting official - who is wearing a red hat and is relatively heavyset - being greeted by a retinue of local officials who have arrived in a small boat, accompanied by four escorts. At the bow of the boat, another local official is kneeling in front of his superiors and making a report.

The Chinese characters 'Sanshui 三水' are written on the plaques and lanterns of the buildings on the left side of the scene. Sanshui is a district in the present-day city of Foshan 佛山 in Canton, suggesting that the official standing on the edge of the platform, respectfully awaiting his superiors, may have been an official of the Sanshui district. A civil temple dedicated to Confucius and a military temple dedicated to famous generals still exist in Sanshui. The well-known nine-storey pagoda at Whampoa is visible in the background. The site of the temple can still be found on today's map along a street next to the water - which may explain why the military official came by boat.

The inscription on the paifang on the shore further suggests that the visitor may have been an imperial envoy. Above the arch, the horizontal row of text on either side reads 'Shan Qing Shui Shu 山清水漱'(the mountains are clear and the water is beautiful), while in the middle it reads 'Bo Guang Hao Dang波光浩蕩'(the glistening light of waves is vast and mighty). The couplets on the pillars on either side contain some indistinct Chinese characters reading 'Yu Lu雨露...'(Rain and dew) and 'En Ze 恩澤...'(in favour of the Emperor). In traditional Chinese culture, these are often associated with the favour of the Emperor. The red flag on the ship also bears the word 'Qin欽', which means 'Imperial decree'.

4. Winter

In winter, snow blankets a military camp outside a walled city. Here, an exciting archery competition is taking place. On the right, a young archer dressed in white holds his breath as the crowd looks on, his bow string drawn and his arrow ready to strike. On the left, an arrow has already hit the centre of the target - a great shot! The only old man sitting in the stands was apparently an officer in the camp. At the moment, he too is rubbing his white beard in anticipation of the result of the arrow. On his table are two lots containers - they have probably determined the order of competition by drawing lots. In a small tent in the middle of the field, there is a soldier beating a drum to cheer or to act as a signaler. Can the competitor in this picture beat that score? The artist has brought the tension and fun of the competition to life.

The plaque above the stands suggests that this may have been an archery competition within the camp, as it reads 'Xu Lao Li Yong 恤勞勵勇'(Compassion for the industrious and encouragement for the courageous). On the screen behind the officer is a painted Qilin 麒麟 - a Chinese legendary beast that was a symbol of high ranking military officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was believed that the Qilin possessed great power but did not abuse it to commit evil and was therefore a benevolent beast. The background is dominated by the darkened and cloudless skyscape that captures winter's melancholy.