Birds, Rocks and Flowers

Two yellow birds perch on blossoming branches as others gather on a garden rock below. While the painting is a burst of vibrant color and virtuoso brushwork, the inscription adds layers of auspicious spring wishes and filial piety to its meaning.

An accomplished calligrapher and versatile painter skilled in flower and bird motifs as well as figures, Wáng Zhèn is considered one of the most influential artists of the Shanghai School. Often known by his art name Báilóng Shānrén 白龍山人 (The White Dragon Hermit) and his courtesy name Wáng Yītíng 王一亭, Wáng was active for much of his career in Shanghai, where he served as a comprador (manager) for Japanese trading companies from 1902 to 1931. He was also involved in local politics. Having briefly been a student of Shanghai master Rèn Bónián 任伯年 (1840–1896), Wáng fully devoted himself to painting and calligraphy after retiring from politics in the early 1910s, when he also became a close friend and follower of Wú Chāngshuò, whose work is shown nearby.

INSCRIPTION: BIRDS, ROCKS, AND FLOWERS
睍睆黃鳥，載好其音*。花開四時，紅釀春陰。閑步庭前，快哉我吟。
辛未白龍山人寫
印：「王震大利」 「一亭」
The yellow bird sings a melodious and pleasant song.* The flower that blooms in all four seasons now becomes so intensely red that it almost brews spring rain. Loitering in the courtyard, how cheerfully I chant!
Painted in the year of Xinwei [1931] by the White Dragon Hermit [Wáng Zhèn]
Seals: Wang Zhen Great Benefits; Yītíng
* A verse from “Airs of the States: Odes of Bei: Winds from the South” (國風; 邶風; 凱風) in the Classic of Poetry 詩經, often cited as an allusion to filial piety and maternal love.