锦羽国色Brocade Feathers, National Beauty

On the left a bank of rock is rubbed in with pale ink and ochre and edged with heavy moss dots. On it stands a pair of golden pheasants. The male has a crest like a flame, a green back, a yellow rump and a scarlet breast; his long tail, barred segment by segment with a fine brush, slants down past the rock. The brown female crouches behind him, turning her head. On the right, peonies grow vigorously up the scroll in crimson, peach and pink, full-headed, rich at the base of the petals and paler at the edges, among dark green leaves dotted with mineral green, while buds stand up at the tips of the stems.

The title at the upper left reads “Brocade Feathers, National Beauty”: the pheasant’s many-coloured plumage and the peony, called the beauty of the nation, joined in one wish for a bright future and good fortune.

左侧坡石淡墨淡赭轻擦，石边苔点浓重；石上锦鸡一对：雄者金冠如焰，翠背黄腰，朱红胸羽，长尾斑纹以细笔一节节写出，斜垂至石下；雌者褐羽，蹲伏其后，侧首相顾。右侧牡丹自下而上蓬勃生长，朱红、桃红、粉红诸色交错，花头饱满，瓣根浓艳，瓣缘渐淡；叶以墨绿铺写，叶上石绿点染，枝头花苞挺立，生意盎然。

左上题“锦羽国色”。锦鸡羽色斑斓，牡丹誉为“国色”，二美相合，寓前程似锦、富贵吉祥。