In this inscription, in which Liu Haisu donates the painting to a German couple in gratitude for their support, the artist mentions the important 'Contemporary Chinese Painting' exhibition held in Berlin in early 1934, of which he was a co-curator. He was also one of the organizers of the first exhibition of modern Chinese painting in Europe, held at the Frankfurter Kunstverein in 1931.
Liu Haisu is considered one of the 'fathers' of Chinese modernism. He was a co-founder of the Western-oriented Shanghai Art Academy and travelled extensively, meeting Picasso and Matisse in France, among others. In this painting, he combines stylistic elements of Chinese ink painting with the expressive forms of modern Western oil painting.