Flowers and Calligraphy

This hanging scroll is comprised of two album leaves mounted one above the other. The subject of the painting (jade hairpin flowers) and the text of the calligraphy have no particular thematic connection; however, such incongruities are common in Bada Shanren's works. The only clear relationship between the two leaves is the complementary style of brushwork in which both the painting and the calligraphy were executed.

Prior to opening, the tubular white blossoms of the jade hairpin flower resemble the ornaments worn as hairpins by palace ladies, from which the flower's Chinese name derives. Blooming in the fall, this common garden plant was primarily cultivated for its broad, attractive leaves and sweet-smelling flowers. Traditionally, the jade hairpin seldom served as the primary focus of paintings, though Bada chose to explore the subject on more than one occasion. In keeping with the autumn season, the painting also shows a bunch of chrysanthemums in the upper-right corner.

Bada Shanren's quotation on the calligraphy leaf comes from the opening passage to the chapter "Copying" in the Xu shupu (Sequel to the treatise on calligraphy) by the Southern Song-dynasty calligrapher and poet Jiang Kui (ca. 1155-ca. 1235), who discussed the importance of copying the works of earlier masters in the process of learning calligraphy.