Shen Fan’s poem of four beauties hanging scroll - 樊山四嬋娟詩

Zengxiang Fan (his original name is Jia Fan) born in Hubei, China is known as Fang shen (courtesy name) and Tianqin old man (pseudonym). He was an interim governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi provinces, China in 1910. In terms of art achievement, Fan was a very productive poet. He created hundreds of poems and edited some of them into his book, “Fan Shan Qi”. After he met Zhidong Zhang (1837-1909, one of four famous officials in late Qing dynasty), Fan started concerning a more practical knowledge that can benefit development of his country and created more poems reflecting a current political condition of Qing dynasty.樊增祥，原名樊嘉，字樊山，號天琴老人，湖北人，曾於宣統二 (1910) 任護理兩江總督。樊增祥以張之洞 (1837-1909) 為師，學習經世濟民的學問。樊增祥為一多產的詩人，著有「樊山集」。If bamboos grow too handsomely, they are usually drowned by spring water. If flowers are too beautiful, they are constantly veiled by morning fog. If snow is too shiny, they disappear soon. If moonlight is too appealing, it acturally elicits a rise of pity.竹嬋娟，汎春泉。花嬋娟，籠曉煙。雪嬋娟，不長妍。月嬋娟，真可憐。Postscript: the work is made in a simple and crude house at a night with dew and a crescent moon in the September of 1946; Signature: Fangshen, Zengxiang Fan題跋: 庚申九月珠露月虧之夕書于僑鷦鷯巢; 款識: 樊山樊增祥1) Jia Fang with five hundred thousand; 2) Tianqin Buddhist householder; 3) Tse Tsung Chow1) 樊嘉五十萬; 2) 天琴居士; 3) 周策