Beautiful White Plum Blossom Scroll

The plum blossom is one of the few flowers that will bloom in the winter.

In Chinese culture, plum blossoms represent the strength & beauty of a woman, because they can bloom in the harsh winter, bringing beauty to the world, while thriving, even in difficult circumstances.

The Chinese characters include the date painted (2007), the artist's signature red stamp, and the title which is an old Chinese phrase about the how even in icy conditions, the soul and fragrance still come through.

This is a freehand style painting by Chen Fen-Qing of Nanjing (an ancient capital city of China).

Materials used in this work are watercolor and special black Chinese ink on xuan paper (rice paper). Later I had the painting mounted to a handmade wall scroll at our workshop in Beijing.