Bamboo and Plum Blossoms

From Qiantang in Zhejiang province, Xi Gang was best known as a poet, calligrapher, and painter of landscapes and flowers. This small handscroll features bamboo and white plum in an elegantly refined composition. A grouping comprising the plum blossom, the pine, and bamboo is known in China as the Three Friends of the Cold Season. The symbolism derives from the natural qualities of these plants: the plum blossom defies winter and triumphs over cold; the upright pine remains green throughout the year; bamboo is capable of withstanding the snows of winter. Together, they form an emblem of Confucian virtue, a moral grouping of exemplary plants that endure when all others have succumbed.