Cleveland Museum of Art

Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Search the Mountain: Leaf 43

Date

1200s

Medium

Album, ink on paper

Culture

China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This leaf and the one nearby belongs to a group of sketches with the theme “Clearing the Mountains” ( soushan tu ). The textual basis has long been lost; only the paintings survive. Here, fearsome divine soldiers fight against evil spirits depicted as animals and human-like creatures in mountains and forests. At the lower left, a soldier attacks a ram. To the right, two soldiers attempt to subdue a tiger. Three soldiers (one wielding a sword) emerge from an opening in the cliffs. Soldiers charging through crevices confront a ram with a spear and put a tiger in chains.

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