Jan 28, 2013

52cm (20.47inches) x 114cm (44.88inche)

Listen to Shirley Singing the Song of Peony in Chinese Jan 28, 2013
Listen to Shirley Singing the Song of Peony in English Jan 28, 2012

See Shirley's Painting of Peony Jan 28, 2013

Learn the Meaning of the Song
Learn the symbolization of Peony in Chinese Culture


This is my 33rd Chinese Mogu Painting and my 779th painting since 2003. Also, it is my 175th assignment in Chinese National Academy of Arts.


Since I learned Chinese Mogu Painting in China Central Academy of Arts March, 2010, I have painted 32 small little this kind of paintings.

This week, I tried to paint a little bit bigger one.

In a Mogu Painting, there is no any contour line of Chinese Ink as we do in Chinese Gongbi, all of contour lines are made by colors, and the paper for Mugo Painting does not absorb water, therefore, I had to work very carefully.

-- If I did not leave a little line among the colors or I worked on next step before the last step was not dry yet, the color would be mixed by themselves

Plus some healthy problem, I worked very slow, started on Jan 21 and finished on Jan 28.

Anyway, peony is one of my favorite flowers, so, during I was working on the painting, also I re-translated a Chinese folk song Mudan Zhi Ge -- A Song of Peony that is the theme of a Chinese Move--Red Peony, and tried to play the music and sang it in Chinese and in Chinese.

Even though I do not satisfy what I have done yet, I still hope that my effort will have some help with you to learn Chinese culture and language.

Here is the lyric of the song and hope you enjoy it:

A Song of Peony

Ah, ah, peony,
You are the most bright- coloured of all flowers.

Ah, ah, peony,
You are the most splendid in the " flower-country".

Somebody says you are delicately pretty,
How can a delicate life be so full and round?

Somebody says you are in the riches & honor.
No one knows that you’ve gone through the cold and poverty.

Ah, ah, peony,
Ah, ah, peony,
No one knows that you’ve gone through the cold and poverty

Ah, ah, peony,
You are the most bright-colored of all flowers.
Ah, ah, peony,
You are the most splendid in the flower-country.

When the earth is still frozen,
You are pregnant with the lease of life.

When the spring breeze is blowing,
You are bringing the beauty to the world.

Ah, ah, peony,
Ah, ah, peony,
You are bringing the beauty to the world.

Chinese Pronunciations

牡丹之歌-- Mudang zhi Ge

啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
百花丛中最鲜艳 -- baihua cong zhong zui xianyan。
啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
众香国里最壮观 -- zhong xian guo li zui zhuangguan。
有人说 你娇媚 -- you ren shuo ni jiao mei,
娇媚的生命-- jiao mei de shengming
哪有这样丰满 -- na you zheyang fengman,
有人 说 你 富 贵 -- you ren shuo ni fugui,
哪知道你曾历尽贫寒 -- na zhidao ni zeng li jin pinhan.
啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
哪知道你曾历尽贫寒-- na zhidao ni zeng li jin pinhan.

啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
百花丛中最鲜艳 -- baihua cong zhong zui xianyan。
啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
众香国里最壮观 -- zhong xian guo li zui zhuangguan。
冰封大地的时候 -- bing feng dadi de shihou,
你正蕴育着生机一片 -- ni zheng yunyu zhe shengji yipian。
春风吹来的时候-- chunfeng chui lai de shihou,
你把美丽带给人间 -- ni ba meili bai gei renjian。
啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
啊, 啊 -- a, a,
牡丹 -- mudan,
你把美丽带给人间--ni ba meili bai gei renjian。

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirleyz004@yahoo.com ,you can also publish your opinions on Message Board . :-)

--Shirley Zhang
Jan 28, 2013