凝香图Gathered Fragrance

Two clumps of peonies, one high and one low. The upper clump rises on the right, five or six heads crowded at the ends of the stems in peach and deep rouge, each petal shaded separately around golden stamens, with red buds about to open beside them. The lower clump leans in from the left, three soft pink flowers bowing toward the ground. At the lower right stands a large rock, rubbed in with pale ink and indigo and dotted with dark moss along its top; its weight and coolness set off the richness of the flowers. The leaves are laid in without outline in ink-green, veined with quick strokes and flecked with mineral green.

The title at the upper left, Gathered Fragrance, is followed by two lines from the Tang poet Liu Yuxi: only the peony is the true beauty of the land; when it flowers, the whole capital is stirred. The inscription dates it to the winter of 2024, beside West Lake in Hangzhou. Gathered fragrance is scent that lingers, and a wish that good things stay.

牡丹两丛，一高一低，参差相映。上丛自右侧拔起，花头五六朵攒聚枝端，桃红、胭脂深浅相间，瓣瓣分染，金蕊点点，旁出花苞含红欲吐；下丛偏于左下，粉花三朵，娇柔低垂。右下巨石一方，以淡墨花青皴擦，石顶浓墨点苔，石质苍润，与花之秾丽相衬，刚柔互见。叶以墨绿没骨写出，勾筋爽利，间点石绿。

左上题“凝香图”，录唐刘禹锡《赏牡丹》“惟有牡丹真国色，花开时节动京城”二句，款记甲辰冬月作于杭州西湖之畔。凝香者，香气凝聚不散，状牡丹之芬芳，亦寓美好长驻。