Cockscombs

Inscription: "Autumn has come and the world is bleak and chilly, the many flowers turned to withered grass; I delight in your illustrious name, you are like a precious treasure; I do not want you to be like a staircase, grown ugly with time; your round red blossoms, so delicately carved, yet so strong and vibrant; utterly sincere, politely declining to wither, petals fresh and bright as fleecy white clouds; the waterfowl delight in your magnificent beauty, you truly live up to your name; Why blossom so early? Look at the flowers that bloom in the spring—unable to withstand the change of season they have lost their loveliness. Written the first day of the lunar new-year, Jiazi year (1924), to mark an auspicious beginning. Painted in Ziyi Ming's (Fang Ming) seventh year in the capital. Seal: Fang Ming