Bian Shoumin, also known as Weijian jushi and Jianseng, was a native of Huai’an, Jiangsu Province. Frustrated by the civil service examinations, he had to earn his living through teaching and selling paintings. Regarded as one of the ‘Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou’, he was a keen observer who used brush strokes economically and efficiently to capture the essence of the subject.Bian was known for his depiction of wild geese, water margins, and reeds. The migrant birds in autumn and winter evoked in the minds of the Chinese literati, a time of parting and sorrow. This painting represents a pair of wild geese under the withered reed flower. In the poem inscribed on the top, the artist expresses his sadness in the desolate autumn scenery.
