Xiang Shengmo has a crane guarding the plum blossom in the cold weather

[Picture of Xiang Shengmo with Cranes Watching Plum Blossoms in the Cold Sky]

Picture of Xiang Shengmo with Cranes Watching Plum Blossoms in the Cold Sky, fan page, Ming Dynasty, painting of Xiang Shengmo, paper version, color setting, 20.1 cm vertically and 54.2 cm horizontally
The fan page has its own title: “In the cold weather, there are cranes guarding the plum blossom, and the sentence is from the poem of the Tiao Society. I have written two rhymes in Songling, and I hope to answer it. The first month of Xinmao. Xiang Shengmo.” The seal “Xiang’s Kong Zhang” Zhu Wenyin
“Xinmao” was the eighth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1651), and Xiang Shengmo was 55 years old
The picture is drawn in front of the cottage covered by plum and bamboo. The solitary crane stands against the wind, fearing the cold. It vividly shows the poetic meaning of “the crane guarding the plum blossom in the cold weather”. Plum has become the object of praise for its invincible character in the face of cold, and crane for its healthy and long life. Lin Bu of the Song Dynasty used plum as his wife and crane as his son. The Xiang family took this picture to show that he, as a Ming Dynasty survivor, was not willing to submit to the Qing government under the harsh environment of the early Qing Dynasty. This picture expands the space of the picture by comparing the complexity and simplicity of the far and near view and the left and right view. The author uses skillful pen and ink techniques to express the withering and glory of trees and turbulent streams realistically and vividly