Plum Blossoms —the herald of spring

Fragrant plum blossoms bloom earlier than any other flower in severe cold weather. Therefore, plum trees were often grouped together with pine trees and bamboo in China, and referred to as Three Friends of Winter. Bamboo and plum trees were also grouped with orchids and chrysanthemums and known as the Four Noble Plants. Since ancient times, plum blossoms have appeared in literature, and were favored as a painting subject by educated men.

During the Song dynasty (960-1279) in particular, plum trees painted in ink were developed and became popular in addition to the sophisticated paintings in delicate colors, which were produced mainly by court academy artists. Ink plum painting is said to have been begun by Zen monk Huaguang Zhongren, who was inspired by the silhouette of a plum tree in a window that he saw on a moonlit night.

Later, Song Bojen produced "Album of the Joyful Spirit of Plum Blossoms (Meifua Xishenfu) " (Southern Song dynasty, 1238) that included a hundred paintings of plum blossoms in various stages - from their budding to falling - with a poem attached to each of them. From the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) onward, plum blossoms as an art subject became increasingly popular among educated people.

Often used to describe feminine beauty, plum blossoms have been painted in various ways. This display features works, both in ink and color, by ink plum painters such as Wu Daisu from the Yuan dynasty, Chen Lu and Liu Shiru from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and those painted during the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) by Emperor Shunzhi and Jin Nong, who was known as one of Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.