Plum-blossom study

Calligraphy, the art of handwriting, is regarded in China as the highest form of visual art. Its artistic and expressive qualities are independent of the meanings of the written words. This piece of calligraphy is in the form of a poem; a seven character quatrain written in four columns of semi-cursive script, read from right to left, top to bottom. The poem which was composed by Chen and written for a friend can be translated as follows:

The Plum blossom study is crowded by chariots of war,

I have already lost my home but my uncle has a house;

In dreams, I go to the plum-blossoms and wake up in the study

But thick frost and light snow have finished the blossoming plums.
The poem is followed by the artist’s signature and inscription: ‘Hongshou wrote this for the appreciation of Erfu, elder brother in poetry’ and two artist’s seals. The poem is autobiographical and has political undertones. Chen speaks of the devastation brought about by war. Symbols of nature and literary puns are used to express different levels of meaning. The plum blossom, mentioned three times in the poem, symbolises the strength to survive under harsh conditions, as it has the power to regenerate itself. After surviving the cold winter, the prunus is the first tree to bloom in early spring, often before the snow has melted. Frost and snow are here used to signify the hostile elements that prematurely destroyed blossoming plums. The last character hua , meaning `blossoms’ in `mei (plum) hua (blossoms)’, also means `China or Chinese civilisation’. By implication, like the plum blossom, China will survive the foreign rule of the Manchu barbarians, in spite of the hostile elements of snow and frost, and will regenerate.
In the semi-cursive style of calligraphy, Chen expresses his inner anguish with elegance and restraint. The character can (reading from right to left, second character from the bottom of the third row), meaning `remnant, remaining or light’, is written in soft, light ink, in almost one continuous brushstroke. The brushstrokes and tonal textures of ink are evocative of the resonance of the life force (qi in Chinese, pronounced `chee’) of nature, and the spontaneous movement of the brush reflects the natural flow of the artist’s life energy.

Text by Dr Mae Anna Pang © National Gallery of Victoria, Australia