 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
 |
Four Sleepers
|
| |
|
Four Sleepers
CHINA; Yuan dynasty (1271-1368); By Mokuan Reien; Ink on paper; 73.7 x 32.5 cm; Maeda Ikutokukai, Tokyo, Japan
Fenggan, Hanshan, Shide, and a tiger, all sleeping soundly, are depicted in this Zen painting. This is a common image in Song dynasty (960-1279) and Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) artworks. According to the Song Biographies of Eminent Monks, Fenggan, a monk at Guoqing Temple on Tiantaishan, often rode a tiger, and was a friend of Hanshan, a reclusive poet who lived in a cave on the mountain. Fenggan found Shide when he was a small child, abandoned in the mountains, and brought him to Guoqing Temple. He worked in the kitchen and would save the scraps of the monk's meals for Hanshan.
Master Xiangfu of the Yuan dynasty inscribed his praise on the picture at the behest of the emperor, and also impressed his collector's seal. Praise rendered in Buddhist verses was commonly added to paintings during the Southern Song dynasty. This inscription emphasizes the harmony of the four figures sleeping in a pile, and of the humans and tiger coexisting. This painting brings to mind two other Buddhist verses. The Yuejian Monk Verses state, Tiger and human lean together and forget who they really are |
