Ma Ho-chih, a native of Ch'ien-t'ang (modern Hangchow), was an official who also excelled at painting landscapes and figures. He is said to have been ordered to illustrate the emperor's calligraphic transcription of "The Odes of Mao" 300 times.

      The subject of this album leaf is from "The Book of Poetry", China's famous and earliest collection of poetry dating to the Chou dynasty. This work illustrates one of the four-character verses and shows a falcon perched in an old tree looking back at its mate flying over an expanse of flowing water. The painting as well as the verse reflect melancholy overtones. Furthermore, the rocks and tree were done in Ma Ho-chih's famous "wasp-waist" strokes, which fluctuate between thick and thin for a dynamic manner that also echoes the emotional content of the verse.