A plum blossom painting starts with the trunks and boughs either in freestyle or in outline. Small branches and blossoms, added afterward, may also be either in freestyle or in outline. It is not necessary to have blossoms in the same style as the trunks or branches. Many artists put outline blossoms on one tree and freestyle blossoms on another in one painting. Trunks and branches can be painted in a combination of the two very different styles, and this combination has long been considered proof of the artist's excellence in skill and is never considered a mistake. Professor Ju introduces the versatility of the plum painting and the meaning of rhythm. He then discusses how to make the composition by doing the huge trunk first, then the smaller branches. Many open spaces are kept for the groups of flowers. But, he also presents another technique by first arranging groups of flowers, then connecting them by adding branches and trunks. Finally, he shows how to wash the background of a painting. There are four color plates of plum paintings by the author at the end of the book.
