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Pomegranate Flowers with Poem

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Pomegranate Flowers

Pomegranate Flowers with Poem by Fan Wei

China: Qing Dynasty, c. 1800,  watercolor on paper

The poem in this painting roughly translates to:

The fresh green leaves set off the solid red pomegranate.
The pomegranate flower blooms like fire.
Autumn wind is waiting for an embroidered purse like a pomegranate to blossom.
Thousands of red-dressed pomegranate seeds are queuing up, and they are smiling like a child.

Inscribing poems on paintings gave a more in-depth view of the artist’s feelings rather than what a painting alone could offer.