Bird-and-flower (花鳥畫) is a thousand years old tradition in Chinese painting that typically portrays flowers, birds, fish and insects (花鳥魚蟲) as subject matters. Traditionally, certain motifs carry symbolic and auspicious meanings. For example, pine trees symbolize vitality, cranes suggest longevity, plum blossoms blooming in winter denote perseverance, bamboos represent integrity, chrysanthemums signify incorruptibility, peonies connote wealth, butterflies allude to marital bliss, and so on. Chinese bird-and-flower paintings share some similarities with Persian Golo Morgh paintings, as the two civilizations exchanged art through the Silk Road during medieval to pre-modern times. This page shows some of my floral and nature photography.