Branch of Blossoming Plum

A native of Shanyin (modern Shaoxing) in Zhejiang province, Liu Shiru was one of the foremost specialists of ink plum in the sixteenth century. He is said as a boy to have been deeply impressed by the work of a renowned fourteenth-century plum blossom painter, Wang Mian (1287-1359) and to have vowed to devote his life to mastering the subject painted by this master. Not content with merely copying, Liu wandered the hills of his district studying plum trees to enrich his understanding of the subject. In addition to his few extant paintings, his illustrated manual on ink-plum painting, Xuehu meipu, survives to represent his art. Because it blooms in February, before donning its leaves, the Chinese plum (prunus mume) is associated with winter and is regarded as a symbol of strength in the face of adversity. In addition, its blossoms symbolize feminine beauty and its weathered trunk the humble scholar. The artist's poem on this painting, inscribed in the upper left, reads: A green dragon, it rears up high and seems to reach for the Milky Way Like jade butterflies, in irregular patterns, unsoiled by mud. Suddenly the Wind God Fengyi gives forth a wild whistle And the splendor of spring is scattered all over, east and west. (Translation by Hans Frankel)