秋菊Autumn Chrysanthemums

A small round painting on card, of autumn chrysanthemums. Two orange flowers sit at the centre, their long thin petals outlined and filled in orange, curling outward layer by layer around dark-ink centres; above them two white chrysanthemums are drawn in pale ink with fine, thread-like petals, and a few small flowers are scattered between. The leaves are in dark and pale ink, deep and heavy, and a few bare twigs and red-brown autumn leaves reach out of the circle, bringing in the sparseness of autumn.

The painting carries no title, only the signature Jumei; this one describes the picture. The chrysanthemum blooms through the frost and stands for integrity and long life, and the painter’s own name, Jumei, begins with it.

此为卡纸圆光小品，写秋菊。橙黄菊花两朵居中，花瓣细长，以橙色勾填，层层向外舒卷，花心浓墨点出；其上白菊两朵，以淡墨双钩，瓣丝纤细，清雅素洁；另有小菊数朵点缀其间。叶以浓淡墨写出，墨色沉郁，几枝枯枝与赭红秋叶斜出画外，平添萧疏的秋意。

此幅未题画名，仅署“菊梅”，题目依画意拟定。菊花凌霜而开，寓高洁与长寿；画家名中有“菊”，写菊尤有会心。