Plum Blossoms

This painting in the monochrome ink-plum (momei) genre and its inscription are representative examples of the traditional plum blossom metaphor in Chinese art and literature. In its simplicity and fragrance, the flowering plum is the harbinger of new life growing from old, seemingly dead wood, barely waiting for winter to fade and snow to melt before sprouting its delicate blossoms. Without color or ostentatious display, the plant’s modest white blossoms are the life-breath of nature, and in this painting, this ideal is underscored by the expansive network of petals in this late Qing dynasty (1644–1911) scroll.

The moon is often associated with the flowering plum in Chinese literature, and here, the light tones of the gray wash background ground perhaps evoke the tree in moonlight. The "white" of the blossoms is, in fact, the unpainted silk of the scroll, and each blossom is finished by carefully outlining the white of the silk in contrasting dark ink strokes.