Plum Blossoms

Another fabulous stone carving I have collected. This time is the Plum Blossoms (梅花). The carving again is carved out from a piece of shoushan stone of the Furong variety. Plum Blossoms are Chinese artists favourite subject. The flowers often appear on Chinese ink paintings in four seasons. In this carving, the petals of the flowers are delicately carved out, evenly spread out on a massive tree trunk. Some of the twigs are so fine that they are like thread hanging in the air. There are 2 birds on the left, resting on a branch.

Prunus mume is an Asian tree species classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus subgenus Prunus. Its common names include Chinese plum and Japanese apricot. The flower is usually called plum blossom. This distinct tree species is related to both the plum and apricot trees.
The plant is known by a number of different names in English, including Chinese plum and Japanese apricot. An alternative name is ume, from Japanese, or mume, from the scientific name. Another alternative name is mei, from the Chinese name.

The flower is known as the meihua (梅花) in Chinese, which came to be translated as "plum blossom" or sometimes as "flowering plum". The term "winter plum" may be used too, specifically with regard to the depiction of the flower with its early blooming in Chinese painting.

In Chinese it is called méi (梅) and the fruit is called méizi (梅子). The Japanese name is ume (kanji: 梅; hiragana: うめ), while the Korean name is maesil (hangul: 매실; hanja: 梅實). The Japanese and Korean terms derive from Middle Chinese, in which the pronunciation is thought to have been muəi. The Vietnamese name is mai or mơ. Source: Wiki.



Plum Bloosoms in nature



Close up view of the flower

Chines painting of Plum Blossoms