笑口常开Ever Smiling

Old pomegranate boughs hang from the top of the scroll, crossed at the middle by a single sweep of dark ink, dry-brushed so the paper shows through. Six fruits hang among them, washed in red-brown and vermilion and flecked with deeper red. Three cluster at the center, two of them split open on rows of glistening seeds dotted in rouge and carmine and edged with gold; another at the lower right has burst too, as if laughing. The leaves are pale green and ochre, with a few in dark ink for weight. On a twig below, a slender green insect clings quietly, long-legged and long-feelered.

The title at the upper left, signed Jumei, reads “Ever Smiling.” A ripe pomegranate splits by itself like a laughing mouth, and its many seeds wish a family many children and good fortune. For the word “smile” she wrote an old variant of the character.

石榴老枝自画顶垂下，中部浓墨横扫一干，笔势苍劲，飞白隐现。榴果六枚错落枝间，赭红、朱砂晕染，果皮缀以深红斑点；中部三枚相聚，其二绽裂，籽粒晶莹，以胭脂、洋红点出，金黄勾边；右下一枚亦裂口含笑。叶以淡绿、赭墨写出，间以浓墨数叶，浓淡相生。枝间草虫一只静伏，细足长须，平添野趣。

左上题“笑口常开”，款署菊梅。石榴熟而自裂，状如笑口，故有此题；榴房多籽，又寓多子多福、家门兴旺。题中“笑”字作“咲”，为古写。