Shiy De-jinn indicated that the use of flowers as theme in painting is unique to Chinese art. In Western art, the flowers are often intentionally arranged in a vase; in Chinese art, however, the artist holds to natural representations and pursues the pleasures that nature Herself has to offer.

Shiy De-jinn observed flowers with a "modern eye" and presented them from different sources; this gives the flowers in his paintings a new life as well as a new meaning. The narcissus, a bloom of late winter and early spring, was described as the "Fairy of the Waves" by the Chinese poet Huang Tingjian. In Shiy's painting, the narcissuses are clear and elegant, persevering and—as the name implies—self-centered. In his delicate composition, the harmony of the ink is transformed into a harmony of color; the narcissus is outlined with steady, strong brushstrokes that speak to their inner fullness and lush vitality of the bloom.