Portrait of Priest Dazhi (1048–1116), Master of Law (1100s): Art, History and Details

Portrait of Priest Dazhi (1048–1116), Master of Law (1100s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Liu Tao (Chinese, late 1000s–early 1100s).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Monk Yuanzhao, with the honorific title Dazhi Lüshi, Great Wisdom Master of Vinaya, is depicted here as an itinerant monk, holding his alms bowl in the left and staff in the right. In 1142, Emperor Gaozong had bestowed Yuanzhao with a posthumous title, mentioned in the inscription, which suggests that the portrait was made after the master’s death. A master of the Lü sect of Buddhism, with a calm benevolent smile on his face, Yuanzhao was active on Mount Tiantai and in Hangzhou. Later, Liu Tao, a southerner from Changxing, added the inscription. The eulogy reads: Dignified he is, perfect in his upasampada [ordination of a monk]. His appearance is like his mind. Uncompromising and aloof. His mind is like his appearance. To say he is square, he proves to be round. He looks timid, yet his spirit is unbound. Having no attachment, and holding no reins, men and deities alike take refuge in him. —translated by Wai-Kam Ho

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of Priest Dazhi (1048–1116), Master of Law
• Date: 1100s
• Creator attribution: Liu Tao (Chinese, late 1000s–early 1100s)
• Culture: China, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk
• Dimensions: Image: 92.4 x 40.5 cm (36 3/8 x 15 15/16 in.); Overall: 171.9 x 55.1 cm (67 11/16 x 21 11/16 in.); with knobs: 171.9 x 60.5 cm (67 11/16 x 23 13/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1974.29

A detail from the museum

A native of Hangzhou, the priest Dazhi was known for his eloquent exposition of Buddhist doctrines and for his success in winning many converts.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102.
• Lee, Sherman E. “Varieties of Portraiture in Chinese and Japanese Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 4 (April 1977): 118–136.
• Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan 奈良国立博物館. Nihon Bukkyō bijutsu no genryū [Sources of Japanese Buddhist art: special exhibitions = 日本仏敎美術の源流]. Nara: Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, Shōwa 53 [1978]

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.