荷塘清趣Quiet Pleasures of the Lotus Pond

A cool, quiet corner of a lotus pond. The paper is first washed in pale green and yellow, so the whole scene seems wrapped in moist air, and broad lotus leaves are laid in with large strokes of ink and mineral green. One pink lotus, drawn with fine outlines and touched with red at the tips of its petals, stands above them; a white lotus and several buds answer it lower down. At the foot of the scroll a pair of red-crowned cranes, white-bodied with black necks and a single spot of red on the head, are set down in a few sure strokes, one bending, one looking back.

The lotus, rising clean from the mud, stands for purity and integrity, and its name, he, sounds like the word for harmony; the crane is an emblem of long life. The title speaks of the simple, refreshing pleasure of such a scene.

此作写荷塘一隅，意境清旷。先以淡绿、淡黄渲染底色，水气氤氲，满纸湿润；荷叶以浓淡墨色兼石绿大笔铺写，阴阳向背，层次分明。叶上粉荷一朵，双钩精细，瓣尖晕以胭脂，亭亭出水；其下白荷数朵，花苞点点，互为映带。荷下丹顶鹤一双，黑颈素羽，顶缀朱红，一俯一仰，寥寥数笔而神态毕具。

荷出淤泥而不染，素为清廉高洁之喻，又谐“和”音，寓和美之意；鹤为长寿之禽。题曰“清趣”，取其清静自适、悠然有得。