The characters on the right are a short Chinese poem I wrote,
English translation:
"The autumn wind paints with red Ink,
plucking qin while the birch leaves fly."
The image is of birch penjing in the Chinese literati style. The trees are shaped to be especially thin, with a modest pad of leaves. There are typically two or more main branch lines. The tree should be free and flowing like a caligraphy brushstroke.
*qin is referring to the ancient Chinese instrument (guqin) a seven-stringed table-top zither. The instrument and its repertoire are closely related with the Chinese literati class.
*penjing literally means tray-landscape. In the US we usually are more familiar with the Japanese word Bonsai, an art that was derived from penjing. Penjing is a less specific term encompassing a broader range of such types of artworks, and generally more liberal in design. |
Thank you!