Orchid

Zheng Sixiao was one of the Song dyasty yimin “leftover subjects,” loyalists to the former dynasty who refused to serve under the new ruler of the Yuan dynasty. After the fall of the Song dynasty, he changed his name to Sixiao, meaning longing for the Song emperor. In this handscroll the orchid, depicted without its root, symbolizes the Song emperor after the invasion of his land. The painting expresses the artist’s sense of mourning and protest against the new Yuan dynasty.