In search of plum blossoms in snow 踏雪尋梅

Here is a huge Shoushan carving created from a big Furong stone weighing almost 20 kg. I had a hard time bringing it home and putting it up for display. You can see an old man riding a donkey, in front of him is a servant boy leading the way. There are plum blossoms flourished in the midst of the snow, seen by the greenish white portion of the carving. The carving is a lovely piece of art created by stone carving specialist.

The theme for this carving is in search of plum blossoms in snow, 踏雪尋梅. In this story, an old man was riding a donkey up in a mountain in a snow setting in search of plum blossoms. This theme was first appeared in a poem by a poet Meng Huoran who lived during the Tang dynasty some 1000 years ago.

There is even an old song that described the old man riding a donkey in search of plum blossoms in snow. As he rode on, the bells that tied to the donkey chimed and he enjoyed the beautiful scene of plum blossoms that flourished in the deep winter. Sound of ting tang from the bells can be heard from a distance. The  lyrics (in mandarin) are reproduced below.
         

雪霽天晴朗 臘梅處處香
騎驢把橋過 鈴兒響叮噹
響叮噹 響叮噹 響叮噹 響叮噹
好花栽得瓶供養
伴我書聲琴韻 共度好時光

Translation:
 

The snow has cleared the sky is clear , scent of plum blossoms everywhere
Riding a donkey over a bridge, the bells ring out: ding dong
ring ding dong , ring ding dong, ring ding dong, ring ding dong!
flowers are picked and planted in vases
accompany my studies with melody of harp
we pass good times together

If you want to hear this song, click on the you tube UOL below:

           http://youtu.be/SFYdByOTS7U
           http://youtu.be/empQRc9sNlo (a fast version)

踏雪尋梅

In search of plum blossoms in snow