The Second Coming of the Fifth Patriarch

五祖再來圖

c. mid-1300s

Yintuoluo 因陀羅

(Chinese, c. 1285-c. 1355)

Culture

China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)

Medium

section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll, ink on paper

Measurements

Image: 32.7 x 44.6 cm (12 7/8 x 17 9/16 in.); Overall: 245 x 62 cm (96 7/16 x 24 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1967.211

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

This painting is just a section of a handscroll that has been remounted as a hanging scroll.

Description

A small boy, accompanied by his mother, is closing his hands in greeting to an old monk who has a young attendant standing behind him. Scholars believe the scene is a meeting between the fourth patriarch of Chan Buddhism, Daoxin 道信, and the little boy, who was the reincarnation of an old monk named Zaisong daozhe 栽松道者 (Pine Planter). They had encountered before, during which Daoxin advised the Pine Planter to endure a reincarnation as he was too old to reach enlightenment. This painting is done by Yintuoluo, an artist renowned for his simple and unadorned style.