Chinese Fruit, Vegetable &

Insect Painting

Lychee
Lychee Fruit
 The lychee is a
tropical tree
native to
Guangdong and
Fujian provinces
of China.

Cultivation is
documented as
far back as 1059
BCE.
 The lychee is a tall evergreen tree with fleshy fruit
which are green when immature and turn pink red
when ripened. The fruits have a roughly textured outer
skin that protects the white inner flesh.
Unripened lychee
The Chinese character for lychee
is
荔枝 (li zhi)
The first character (li)
荔 sounds the same as that of
the words "clever(俐)" and
"profit(利)“ so lychee symbolises
clever, auspicious and big profits
 Many red lychees growing on a
branch

A branch implies "a small

investment(一本)", and thickly
dotted lychees symbolize big
profits, so the combination means
"A small investment brings a ten
thousand-fold profit". Yi Ben Wan
Li(一本万利).
Lychees are usually
canned and eaten
as a dessert.
Chinese Masters
 Anon.
(960-1279)
(Song Dynasty)
Bird on Lychee branch
Wu Changshuo.
(1844-1927)
(Qing Dynasty -
ROC)
Lychees
 Chen Shuren
(1884-1948)
(Qing Dynasty -
ROC)
Lychees and
cicada
 Chen Shuren
(1884-1948)
(Qing Dynasty - ROC)
Lychees
 Qi Baishi
(1864-1957)
(Qing Dynasty – PROC)
Lychees
 Qi Baishi
(1864-1957)
(Qing Dynasty –
PROC)
Lychees
 Qi Baishi
(1864-1957)
(Qing Dynasty – PROC)
Lychees
 Qi Baishi
(1864-1957)
(Qing Dynasty –
PROC)
Lychees
 Qi Baishi
(1864-1957)
(Qing Dynasty –
PROC)
Lychees
 Qi Baishi
(1864-1957)
(Qing Dynasty –
PROC)
Lychees
 Wang Xuetao
(1903-1982)
(Qing Dynasty – PROC)
Radish
 Lou Shibai
(1918-2010)
(ROC– PROC)
Duck and Lychee
 Lou Shibai
(1918-2010)
(ROC– PROC)
Lychee