Playing Lute in a Moonlit Bamboo Grove

Here a few bamboo stalks sway in the foreground of a mysterious performance, set on rocks by a waterfall. Gazing at the distant sky, a young girl sings with her mouth slightly open. Seated close by, an old man is playing a ruan, a Chinese lute. Their immediate backdrop features a full moon against a light blue sky, bathing the scene in a warm yellow glow, as if lighting the way for a flock of flying geese. This suggests the arrival of autumn when birds start to migrate south for the cold season.

Born in Shanghai, Cheng Shifa was a productive illustrator, designer, and painter. He began his career by drawing comic strips and book illustrations, and later developed an eclectic style that combined traditional brushworks with Western drawing techniques. Known for his figure and animal paintings, Chang also promoted a dramatic, decorative style practiced by a school of painters native to Shanghai. His poetically atmospheric depictions of imaginative settings linked the style of his school with Chinese national paintings inspired by traditional tales and historical stories.