Pictured above is an iron wrought painting framed in dark wood with a beige border. Within the painting, a woman wearing loose, flowing clothing sits on a ledge among flowers. The woman in the forefront of the picture is delicately holding a flower with her right hand as her left hand is gently placed against the ground. Her hair is decorated with a large floral headdress, and there is a colophon extending downwards from the upper left hand corner.
Throughout Chinese history, delicateness and fragility were traits exclusively attributed to women, and as such picture is a visual representation of Confucius ideas of women. The subject’s proximity to the flowers that surround her is symbolic of her closeness to flowers in social and sexual standing. Within Chinese society, women weren’t just delicate and in need of care and protection (by the men in their lives), but were also meant to be sexless and celibate until the day of their wedding.