This is a 1934 Chinese ink-and-color painting on silk by the Shanghai artist Wang Zhenhai, depicting a peacock and a pheasant amid flowering plants, inscribed by General Cai Tingkai and presented to Donaldina Cameron in San Francisco. The stately peacock occupies the upper portion of the composition, while the pheasant appears below among rocks and blossoms. The surrounding floral borders on all four sides are also entirely hand-painted, forming an integral part of the work rather than a separately applied textile border. The lower inscription identifies the artist as Wang Zhenhai of Shanghai.

The inscription written by Cai Tingkai at the upper left reads: “For the appreciation of Ms. Donaldina Cameron, Twenty-Third Year of the Republic, Cai Tingkai” (金美伦女史留赏，民国二十三年，蔡廷锴). The Twenty-Third Year of the Republic corresponds to 1934.

Cai Tingkai arrived in San Francisco on November 4, 1934, during an American tour undertaken following his celebrated leadership in the defense of Shanghai. He remained in the United States into early 1935 and addressed overseas Chinese communities, acknowledging their patriotism and generous support. A related printed inscription by Cai Tingkai in this auction is dated January 1, 1935, in San Francisco. Taken together, this chronology strongly suggests that the present painting was presented to Donaldina Cameron near the end of 1934. 

Donaldina Cameron (1869–1968), known in Chinese as Jin Meilun, was born in New Zealand to a family of Scottish ancestry and moved to California as a child. In 1895, she began working at the Presbyterian Mission House at 920 Sacramento Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. At the time, discriminatory immigration restrictions and severe gender imbalance within the Chinese immigrant community had helped create conditions in which young Chinese women could be trafficked into forced domestic labor and prostitution.

Cameron devoted nearly four decades to sheltering and assisting these women. She confronted traffickers, participated in rescue operations and provided residents of the Mission House with housing, education and practical support. The women under her care affectionately called her “Lo Mo,” or “Old Mother,” while she became more widely known as the “Angry Angel of Chinatown”—a name that expressed both her compassion and her anger at the exploitation of vulnerable women. She is credited with helping approximately 3,000 Chinese girls and women escape enslavement and abuse. Cameron retired in 1934, and the institution was renamed Donaldina Cameron House in her honor in 1942. 

The presentation of this painting is therefore historically significant. It connects two individuals remembered for confronting violence and injustice: Cai Tingkai, associated with the Chinese resistance during the 1932 Battle of Shanghai, and Donaldina Cameron, whose life’s work centered upon the protection of Chinese immigrant women in San Francisco.

Its imagery also lends itself to a personal interpretation. The peacock traditionally evokes beauty, dignity and nobility, while the pheasant and flowering plants suggest refinement, vitality and renewal. Surrounded by a richly painted border of birds and flowers, the composition may be understood as more than a decorative gift. The beautiful birds and blossoms can be read as a tribute to Cameron herself—a symbolic reflection of the courage, compassion and beauty of spirit recognized in her by the Chinese community.

Reference: https://usdandelion.com/archives/2688

{Image size: 32 5/8 x 16 3/4 inches}.

王镇海《孔雀雉鸡花卉图》，蔡廷锴将军赠金美伦女史，1934年

这是一幅1934年由上海画家王镇海创作的设色绢本花鸟画，并由蔡廷锴将军在旧金山题赠金美伦女史。画面中央绘孔雀与雉鸡栖游于山石花木之间：孔雀位于画面上部，姿态华美端庄；雉鸡立于下方，与山石和盛开的花卉相互映衬。画面四周的鸟雀花卉纹饰同样全部为手绘，是整幅作品构图的一部分，并非后来附加的织物花边。画面下方署“上海王镇海绘”，并钤朱文印。

左上方蔡廷锴题款为：“金美伦女史留赏，民国二十三年，蔡廷锴。”民国二十三年即1934年。

蔡廷锴于1934年11月4日抵达旧金山。在访美期间，他走访美国多地的华侨社区，感谢海外侨胞对中国抗战事业的支持，并多次赞扬他们的爱国热情与慷慨捐助。本次拍卖中的另一件蔡廷锴致美国华侨的印刷题词，明确署有“1935年1月1日”及旧金山地点。因此，结合蔡廷锴抵达旧金山的时间与相关作品纪年，可以合理推断，本幅作品很可能是他于1934年年底赠送给金美伦女史的。

金美伦，即唐诺蒂娜·卡梅伦（Donaldina Cameron，1869–1968），出生于新西兰一个苏格兰裔家庭，两岁时随家人移居美国，后来定居加利福尼亚州。1895年，她进入旧金山华埠萨克拉门托街920号的长老会传道院工作。当时，在排华法案、移民限制以及华人社会男女比例严重失衡等多重因素影响下，一些年轻中国女子遭人口贩运，被迫成为家佣、女奴或妓女。

金美伦在传道院服务近四十年。她不仅为受害女子提供住所，还亲自参与营救行动，与人口贩子及黑帮势力周旋，并帮助获救妇女学习英文和生活技能。院内女子亲切地称她为“老母”，英文社会则称她为“旧金山唐人街的愤怒天使”。“愤怒”并非源于仇恨，而是源于她对妇女遭受奴役、虐待以及被当作商品买卖的强烈义愤。

据相关历史资料记载，金美伦及其所在机构曾帮助约三千名中国女子摆脱奴役与虐待。她于1934年退休；1942年，这座传道院正式以她的名字命名为“金美伦堂”（Donaldina Cameron House），以纪念她长期为旧金山华人妇女所作的贡献。

因此，本幅作品不仅是一件精美的近代花鸟画，也是一件具有特殊中美华人史意义的纪念性赠礼。蔡廷锴以淞沪抗战将领的身份受到海外华侨的敬重；金美伦则因长期救助华人妇女而深受旧金山华人社会爱戴。两人的相遇，使这幅画成为中国抗战史、美国华侨史及旧金山华埠社会史之间的一项珍贵见证。

画中孔雀象征美丽、尊贵与庄严，雉鸡和繁花则令人联想到生命、希望与新生。四周手绘的鸟雀花卉使整幅作品如同被一座繁盛的花园环抱。由此看来，这些美丽的鸟与花并不仅是装饰性的题材，也可以被理解为对金美伦人格的礼赞——它们正如她的心灵写照，象征着她的勇气、慈悲、坚韧以及对弱者长久而无私的关怀。

{画面尺寸：32 5/8 x 16 3/4英寸}。

参考：https://usdandelion.com/archives/2688

Silk laid on board, corner torn and detached at lower left corner measuring about 2 inches. Unframed.  For condition report and additional photos, please contact the Asian Art Department.