自娱其乐Finding My Own Joy (calligraphy fan)

A calligraphy fan written on a flat, fan-shaped sheet of paper. Across it, from right to left, run four large characters, ziyu qile, in a running-cursive hand, spaced along the curve of the fan: the first square and steady, the second leaning yet balanced between its two halves, the third with a long, open horizontal over two dots, the last in linked, flowing strokes that close the line.

The signature “Jumei” and a square seal sit at lower left, with an oblong seal at the right. The phrase means “to amuse oneself and find one’s own joy.” Writing for pleasure rather than for show is an old ideal of the scholar’s brush, and these four characters say it plainly.

此为书法扇面。自右至左行草书“自娱其乐”四个大字，随扇面弧度依次排开，中宫收紧，笔势外展。“自”字方折沉稳；“娱”字左右相让，斜中取正；“其”字长横舒展，下作两点；“乐”字笔意连绵，收束全篇。左下署“菊梅”二字，钤方印一枚，右侧另钤长方印一枚。

“自娱其乐”，谓自得其乐、不假外求。挥毫作字，本为怡情遣兴，书此四字于扇上，可见以笔墨自适之怀。