雪舞红梅迎春Snow Dances, Red Plum Welcomes Spring

A winter scene. The paper is washed in pale grey ink for a snowy sky, with flecks of white left for falling flakes, and a thin layer of snow lies along the branches and the bank. On the left a red plum reaches down through the scroll, its old trunk twisting, its small flowers dotted in vermilion; among its branches grow camellias in pink and white, with round petals and deep green leaves. High on the right, two tits with yellow breasts and black caps sit side by side on a snowy bough. Lower down a pair of golden pheasants stand on the snowy slope, the male’s brilliant colours glowing against the cool grey.

The plum flowers in the cold, and has long stood for endurance and integrity, and for the first news of spring. The title pictures that moment: snow dancing, and the red plum welcoming spring.

此作写冬景。纸面以淡墨渲染，天色灰白，留白点点，作飞雪之状；枝头坡上，薄雪皑皑。左侧红梅一株自上倒垂，老干屈曲，花小而密，朱红点点；梅枝间又有粉白山茶，花瓣圆润，叶色苍翠。右上雪枝，山雀一双并肩而立，黄腹黑首，玲珑可爱；中下雪坡，锦鸡一对，雄者羽色华美，于清冷画面中尤为夺目。

梅花凌寒独放，向为坚贞高洁之喻，又为报春之花。题曰“雪舞红梅迎春”，正写寒冬将尽、春意萌动之景。