Listen to Shirley Singing the Lyric in English & in Chinese Feb 6, 2012
Listen to Shirley Singing the Lyric in Chinese & in English Feb 6, 2012

Listen to Shirley Explaining the Lyric & Follow Me to Read it -Feb 2,2012
Follow Shirley to Read the Chinese Lyric & Chinese Lyrics -Feb,3 2012

Learn the Meaning of the Lyric -Feb 2,2012

See Shirley Created Calligraphy & Paintings for the Lyric Feb 2 - 4, 2012 

See Shirley Created Calligraphy & Paintings for the Lyric June 26, 2010 

See Mr. Mao Zedong Created Calligraphy for the Lyric Dec,1961 

This is my 112nd Combined Paintingthat I have created / painted for Chinese Classical Poetry, and my 1562nd painting since 2003 ; my 699th assignment (and the 301st works in the second phase of study for getting my Master of Fine Arts in Chinese National Academy of Arts).

This is also the 5th time I created /painted a painting to match the same poem which admires plum blossoms during I am teaching as a volunteer guest Chinese art teacher of 4 catholic schools of Springfield, MO, USA, at a quite difficult time when I was suffering a serious headache. 

During the teaching Nov, 2019 in the first 3 K-12 schools of Springfield, MO, I wanted to show my American students some Chinese paintings which match some poems, such as plum blossoms in my own publications, but these paintings I did to match the poems were saved in an organization during I was in China and I couldn't get them back in time. So, I decided to paint one. 

Maybe for I had to start the long distance travel on the 4th day after I just had just resolved a huge crisis that almost destroyed my web site and database, then my flight was cancelled between Hong Kong and Chicago, I had to take another 3 flights, and was punished for my overweight luggage... After I finally arrived the USA on the night, Oct 31, Thursday, I thought I should have another 3 days to deal with my personal things, but most of American companies don’t work on the weekends, so that I started to work while dealing with a lot of life problems since Nov 4, Monday, 
after offering 5 lessons each day, such as to buy a new refrigerator, to change my house' locks, to install my internet and so on… I have been feeling sleepy and tired so that I started to headache during I worked on the painting...

However, since I wanted to hang up it as a teaching material in my lesson on Nov 11, Monday, after taking 11 pieces of painkillers while working on it on the weekend, I got up to paint it at 3:30am Monday morning and hope to finish it before my work partner -- Mrs. Glad Eyerman came to pick up me at 7:15am. 

Then I didn't think that I would meet a terrible ache that I had never met, so that I couldn't help thinking of death and I said to myself, "Shirley, maybe your last time has come?" Anyway, instead of feeling sadness, I thought it maybe a good end of my life to fall down by my drawing board or the working position... So, quickly, I filled my cell phone and prepared to leave my last words to my son, father, brother and some best friends... 

Thanks God, the special ache wasn't keeping for a long time and then dropped on a serious ache level which I could bear...And I could take the picture which had not been dry to the classroom. 

The interesting thing was that day when I was "snowing" for my painting in the classroom during the interval of classes; it was snowing outside as well on Monday, Nov 11...

I really feeling the process to create this painting on plum blossoms was just to learn from the strong and beautiful flowers and to improve myself...

The picture below was what I had done for the same poem in 2012.That painting was sold in KY, USA in my 3rd art exhibition there... I have been feeling a pity for it... so that I have been wishing to create a better one... 




The words below were what I had done and the recorded about this combined works in 2012 and 2010, just give you for information.


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The first 3 times I did it after I came back from USA with some serious sickness in 2010, the 4th time I did it in 2012, the 2nd year I entered Chinese National Academy of Arts. This 


I had created 3 paintings to match the poem lyric Bu Suan Zi - Yong Mei by Mr. Mao Zedong (1893 - 1996) in June, 2010, when I just came back from a long distance travel from USA, with the sicknesses on my eyes, bones and digestive system. 

At that time, I did suddenly understood why Chinese have loved the plum blossoms for several thousand years. 

Anyway, then, though I did not satisfy my works, I had no the ability to improve it and I could only paint the little size paintings. 

And then, the study in China central Academy of Fine Arts helped me feel that a piece of paper 136cm x 70cm was not too big. Right now, the study in Chinese National Academy of Arts has let me feel that a piece of paper 180cm x 97cm is not too big. 

So, this weekend, I re-painted the painting to match the poem, my music tutor - Prof. Meng Weiye corrected my music writing, my English tutors - Mrs. Xiaogang Z., Mr. Mike, J and Mr. William G. corrected my translations. 

I really hope that our effort will be some help with you to know something more about Chinese culture. 

The Main Meaning of the Lyric

Bu Suan Zi • Ode to the Plum Blossoms

By Mao Zedong (1893 - 1976)

(Reading Lu You's Lyrics -- Bu Suan Zi • Ode to the Plum Blossom, write with the same tune, but the opposite meaning.)

The wind & rain saw spring off ,
The flying snow welcomes it back.
Though the cliff is still covered with ice,
There is a plum blossom pretty. 

Never vie with the spring for beauty,
Just being the messenger of the spring.
When the mountain flowers are in full bloom,
She will smile among the flowers. 

The Other Translation by Foreign Languages Press, March, 1999

OLD TO THE PLUM BLOSSOM

――to the tune of Bu Suan Zi
December 1961

On reading Lu You’s Old to the Plum Blossom, I countered it with
the following lines.

Wind and rain escorted Spring’s departure,
Flying snow welcomes Spring’s return.
On the ice-clad rock rising high and sheer
A flower blooms sweet and fair.

Sweet and fair, she craves not Spring for herself alone.
To be the harbinger of Spring she is content.
When the mountain flowers are in full bloom
She will smile mingling in their midst.

Chinese Characters & Pronunciations :

You can clink any Chinese Character to open the New Character Board and to see its Chinese pinyin, meaning, pronunciation and follow me to read it, also, you can hit the links over to enter the Language Column, to see my comments about this poem 

卜算子•咏梅 

毛泽东

读陆游咏梅词，反其意而用之。

风雨送春归- Fēnyǔ sòng cūn guī,
飞雪迎春到- fēi yuě yíng chūn dào。 
已是悬崖百丈冰 - Yǐ shì xuán yá bái zhàng bī， 
犹有花枝俏 - yóu yǒu huā zhī qiào。 

俏也不争春 - Qiào yě bù zhēng chūn， 
只把春来报 - zhǐ bǎ chūn lái bào 。 
待到山花烂漫时 - Dài dào shān huā lán màn shí， 
她在丛中笑 - tā zài cōng zhōng xiào。

How do you think of this painting, do you enjoy it? 

If you have any questions, comments and suggestions, please let me know by writing to info@ebridge.cn . You are also welcome to publish your opinions in Message Board as well. 

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Nov 13, 2019 in the USA /Feb 4, 2012 / June 27, 2010