Children Playing on a Winter Day, anonymous, Sung dynasty, Hanging scroll. The National Palace Museum, Taiwan.

In this ancient painting appear plum blossoms and camellia interspersed with orchids and bamboo. Two young children, apparently a sister with her young brother, are playing under the blossoms. The girl is holding a small colorful pennant, and her young brother grasps a red string to which is tied a peacock feather as they tease the small kitten nearby. Although the kitten is separated from the children by some distance, its eyes are nevertheless fixed on the toys held by the brother and sister as it raises a paw about to follow in hot pursuit. Maybe because the boy is a little frightened by the sudden movement of the cat, he seems to be hiding behind his sister, anticipating the cat's attack. The brushwork of this painting is very similar to another painting in the National Palace Museum collection entitled “Children Playing on an Autumn Day” by Su Han-ch'en of the Sung dynasty. Various elements, including the texturing of the rocks, rendering of the children's faces, and tracing of the drapery lines, are all very much alike--even the dimensions of the two works are similar. Thus, these two were perhaps painted by the same artist and may have been part of a set of paintings of children playing in the four seasons, this one representing winter.