Night-blooming Cereus
Wu Hufan Chinese
Not on view
Wu Hufan's delicate sensibilities in the literati manner are evident in this collaborative effort among two calligraphers and the painter. The cereus, a species of cactus that flowers only briefly is used as a metaphor for intense loveliness savored with the knowledge that it will not endure.
The poet renders a botanically accurate description of the sweet-scented flower:
The flower blooms from the tip of the leaf.
Its purple armor is covered by the rosy clouds of dawn.
The yellow stamen sits in a jade bowl,
And its hair-like curly petals are uneven.
[Trans. Ellsworth et al, Later Chinese Painting]
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