In his later years, Shiy De-jinn embarked on a process of innovation in which he fused the techniques and spirit of Western painting with Chinese traditional painting. In this particular painting – “Chinese Flowering Crabapple” – which uses a compositional structure based on traditional Chinese vertical scroll paintings, the bright flowers and dark leaves reflect the skill and assurance of the artist. The style is bold and innovative; Shiy has sought to break away from the constraints of artistic convention, adopting a modern perspective to interpret this traditional subject matter in a way that is not hackneyed or banal. The Chinese flowering crabapple, which can take so many different forms, appears in Shiy’s eyes as a symbol of spring. In every human life, there is only one period of “springtime”; Shiy De-jinn used his artistic skill to paint and draw flowers in a constant return to spring, so that spring as it occurs in nature can be preserved eternally.