Vase with White and Red Plum BlossomsHanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed with one dedication, signed Shifa, with two artist's seals, one reading Shifa.35 x 18 1/4in (89 x 46.5cm) 程十發 紅梅賀新 設色紙本 立軸Provenance/來源:Far East Fine Arts, San Francisco, California, 27 July 1990加州舊金山遠東藝術中心，1990年7月27日Published/出版:Toda, Teisuke and Hiromitsu Ogawa comp. Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Paintings, Third Series, Volume 1: American and Canadian Collections, University of Tokyo Press, 2013, A50-100, p. 210戶田禎佑、小川裕充，《中國繪畫總合圖錄》三編，第一卷，東京大學出版會，東京，2013年，A50-100，頁210 Exhibited/展覽:Wondrous Ink, Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts, Kalamazoo, MI, August 28-December 5, 2010 《水墨神韻》，卡拉馬祖藝術學院，卡拉馬祖，密歇根州，2010年8月28日至12月5日Originally known as an illustrator, Cheng Shifa created many serial pictures books (lianhuan hua). The most popular subject among Cheng Shifa's work is figure painting. This red plum blossom, however, is not an often seen motif. In Chinese culture, plum blossom is associated with resilience and perseverance because it blooms amidst the harsh winter. But at the same time, plum blossom is also the messenger for the spring— the last flower to bloom at the end of the year as well as the first one to arrive in the spring. Painted as a gift for celebrating New Year (according to the inscription), plum blossom in red is the most suitable subject.程十髮向以插圖畫家之身分為人所知，創作了大量連環畫作品，尤以其人物畫廣受歡迎。然而本幅之紅梅卻並非其筆下常見題材。在中國文化中，梅花因在嚴冬綻放的習性而被看作堅韌不拔品格之象徵。同時，獨放於歲末初春的梅花也被視為春天的使者。根據題跋，本幅原為新年賀禮之作，以紅梅為題再適合不過。