五福临门Five Blessings at the Door (hanging scroll)

A gourd vine enters from the upper left, its old stems drawn in brown ink and dotted with black, its fine tendrils curling down toward the lower right. The broad lobed leaves are washed in pale and sap green without outlines, their veins drawn in ink. Five gourds hang among them: two above, a pair leaning together in the middle, and one alone below, all washed in gamboge and orange, with a dot of ink at each base. A few small orange flowers at the lower right add a touch of warmth.

The title at the upper right, signed Jumei, reads “Five Blessings at the Door.” Hulu, gourd, sounds like fulu, good fortune and rank, and the long vine stands for generations to come. There are exactly five gourds, one for each of the five blessings named in the classic Book of Documents: long life, wealth, health, love of virtue and a peaceful end.

葫芦藤蔓自左上斜入，老藤以赭墨写出，缀以墨点，细须盘旋缠绕，随势垂向右下。叶作掌状，淡绿、汁绿没骨晕染，墨线勾筋，浓淡相宜。葫芦五枚错落其间：上方两枚，中部两枚相依，下方一枚独垂，皆以藤黄、橙黄晕染，底缀墨点，明快饱满。右下数朵小花以朱橙点出，为画面添一抹暖色。

右上题“五福临门”，款署菊梅。葫芦谐音“福禄”，藤蔓绵长，又寓子孙绵延。画中葫芦恰为五枚，正合“五福”之数；五福者，寿、富、康宁、攸好德、考终命，语出《尚书·洪范》。