Despite the grim political atmosphere of the late Ming world, Chen Hongshou prepared for a government career before turning to painting. This album, which contains four leaves by Chen and seven added later by his son, reflects the artist's mood after a number of personal tragedies, including the death of his first wife in 1623. It already exhibits the broad range of subject matter, vivid color, and psychological edge that became typical of his mature work.

The bird on a branch of blossoming plum may have been inspired by the intimate, highly descriptive, and vividly colored views of flowers and birds favored by artists of the Southern Song (1127–1279) imperial painting academy. But Chen Hongshou gave this conventional image a strong formal and expressive twist. The mannered emphasis on the knots of the branch and the disquieting stare of the bird add an unsettling dimension. Chen's accompanying poem conjures up a wintry mood appropriate to the season when the plum blooms:

	When the sky darkens over the lofty 
	   paulownia and old cassia,
	Boiling tea with snow water creates a good 
	   feeling.
	I wrote this for a visitor to hang on his wall,
	Sitting in an empty studio as the snow 
	   flies in the cold moonlight.