After poems, a playful brush—not knowing it runs wild;
Is this really painting that costs such careful thought?
Massed leaves splashed out in a thousand dots of ink;
Clustered blooms dyed with a few traces of frost.
Light and dark capture the spirit of the wind-blown shadow;
Lively and free, autumn's fragrance is born beneath the wrist.
Do not mistake this for idle picking by the eastern fence—
Pasted on a screen, it serves to comfort the Double Ninth.
English titles, text, and notes are AI-assisted for reading only; for scholarship cite the Chinese and authoritative editions.
Annotation
One of the chrysanthemum poems from Chapter 38, composed by Baochai (pen name: Lady of the Alpinia) on the theme of 'Painting Chrysanthemums.' 'Massed leaves splashed in a thousand dots of ink' describes the splash-ink technique of painting chrysanthemums. The closing line returns to the Double Ninth Festival theme.
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