Plum Flowers

CASE 1:  Women and Arts in the 13th Century

The plum flower has been admired by scholars and artists in China. It blossoms even in cold weather and is often associated with people who are able to succeed despite challenging circumstances. Below is a Chinese painting of plum flowers.

How to read the picture element: plum flower Artist: Li Jishou
Title: Plum Blossoms after Jin Nong
Date: Second half of 19th century
Period: Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 AD)
Medium: Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Location: University of Michigan Museum of Art

Inscription:

Standing alone elegantly, [the plum blossom]
is not of this dusty world.
At the forefront of all other spring flowers,
it blooms first.
Uniquely distinguished, its bones and face
are made of ice and frost.
From its indifference to fame and profit,
one witnesses its ingenuousness.
This celebrated blossom has many manifestations,
yet there is no trace of its origins.
Its present form is actually the reincarnation
of the bright moon.
A tree with flowers like oral, its fragrance trails off endlessly;
Its pure demeanor overawes the heaven
and earth.

From Marshall P. S. Wu. The Orchid Pavilion Gathering: Chinese Painting from the University of Michigan Museum of Art (Regents of the University of Michigan: Ann Arbor 2000), p.299.

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