Plum blossoms: Flowers of virtue
Wu Zheng, folding fan with plum-blossom painting, Republican China (1911–1949), length: 31cm, unfolded width: 51cm, guards & ribs 16 cm, Arts and Crafts Museum, Hangzhou, China.
A red plum blossom branch curves in the shape of the fan. A similar composition is used in a folding fan from the Republic of China period (1911–1949). The plum blossom, a common motif in Chinese art, is one of the four flowers referring to the virtues of a gentleman. As flowers that bloom at the end of winter, plum blossoms symbolize perseverance and resilience. These qualities possibly allude to the complicated political situation of the late imperial Qing rule. The plum blossoms could also show that Muslims who undertake the pilgrimage journey of hajj have gentlemanly virtues based on Confucian beliefs.