Portrait of Gaofeng Yuanmiao

Title: Portrait of Gaofeng YuanmiaoClose TooltipGaofeng Yuanmiao[gao-FUNG yoo-EN-meow](1238–1295) Chinese Zen monk, twenty-eighth patriarch of Zen Buddhism.

Type: Painting

Associated Religious Tradition: BuddhismClose TooltipBuddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE.

Origins

• Geography: Japan
• Date: 15th century
• Period: Muromachi period (1333–1568)

Physical Properties

• Material: Ink on paper
• Dimensions: H × W: 58.4 × 37.4 cm (23 × 14 3/4 in)

Crediting Information

• Artist: Chūan KinkōClose TooltipChūan Kinkō[CHOO-un KIN-koh]Japanese painter and Zen monk, active in the early to mid-fifteenth century. (early to mid-15th century)
• Collection: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
• Credit Line: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
• Accession Number: F1911.317a-b

Gaofeng YuanmiaoClose TooltipGaofeng Yuanmiao[gao-FUNG yoo-EN-meow](1238–1295) Chinese Zen monk, twenty-eighth patriarch of Zen Buddhism. (1239–1295) was a ChanClose TooltipChan[chen]the Chinese term for Zen Buddhism. monk in China during the Yuan dynastyClose TooltipYuan dynasty[yoo-EN]a dynasty that ruled China from 1271 to 1368. (1271–1368). He is said to have retreated to a mountain for five years and had a great awakening when the sound of a falling pillow shattered his doubt. Later, he began teaching and attracted hundreds of disciples, including the prominent Zhongfeng MingbenClose TooltipZhongfeng Mingben[JONG-fung MING-ben](1263–1323) – a prominent Chinese Chan priest. (1263–1323). A portrait painted in China in 1290, five years before Gaofeng Yuanmiao’s death, was brought to Japan in 1346. That early portrait inspired Japanese veneration of the monk, and it remains at the HōunjiClose TooltipHōunji[HOH-un-jee]Japanese Zen temple in Ibaragi Prefecture. (temple in Ibaragi prefecture, Japan).

Zen is a Japanese word that refers to a specific school within MahayanaClose TooltipMahayana[MA-huh-yaa-nuh]literally, “Great Vehicle”; a major Buddhist movement that emerged sometime before the second century CE and produced a large body of sacred texts. Encompassing several schools of practice, Mahayana encourages practitioners to follow the bodhisattva path and strive to become Buddhas. BuddhismClose TooltipBuddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE. originating in China. Originally called Chan in Chinese, Zen is a transliteration of the SanskritClose TooltipSanskrit[san-SKRIT]the Indian language in which the earliest Hindu hymns, as well as many later scriptures, were composed. A cosmopolitan language used across South and Southeast Asia for centuries, it is the language of numerous Buddhist texts. Buddhist texts known or believed to have been translated from Sanskrit are considered authoritative. word dhyanaClose Tooltipdhyana[DYAH-nah]a Sanskrit term for “meditation.”, meaning “training the mind,” or meditation. At its core, Zen teaches that everyone has the potential to achieve enlightenmentClose Tooltipenlightenmenta moment of great wisdom and understanding; the highest level of consciousness, believed to be achieved through meditation and adhering to the basic moral teachings of Buddhism. but must overcome their ignorance by receiving proper spiritual cultivation from a master. This realization or awakening can happen gradually or instantaneously. Practitioners of Zen usually spend significant solitary time in meditation, sometimes for several years as Gaofeng Yuanmiao did.

When Zen Buddhism was introduced to Japan from China, a specific style and tradition of Chinese religious portraiture came with it and is referred to as chinzōClose Tooltipchinzō[CHIN-zoh]a Japanese term for portraits of Buddhist priests. in Japanese. Chinzō (or chinsō; C. dingxiang) translates as “head’s appearance” and is a style reserved for paintings of Zen masters. When Japanese students returned home from studying Zen/Chan in China, they brought back portraits of their Chinese teachers and teachers from the distant past. Portraits of masters and patriarchs exemplify Zen Buddhism’s vital and fundamental concept of unbroken transmission of the dharmaClose Tooltipdharma[DHAR-muh]a term of unique importance in Indian culture that has several meanings. In Buddhism, it refers to the Buddha’s teachings or doctrines. In Hindu traditions, dharma refers to the moral code that governs proper behavior. directly from a teacher to a student.

In this portrait of influential Chinese Zen master Gaofeng YuanmiaoClose TooltipGaofeng Yuanmiao[gao-FUNG yoo-EN-meow](1238–1295) Chinese Zen monk, twenty-eighth patriarch of Zen Buddhism., we encounter a man with long fingernails, bushy hair, wispy facial hair, and his eyes gazing upward. He is painted entirely in ink. Bold strokes define his robe, and delicate lines form his face, accentuating a furrowed brow, sunken cheeks, and flared nostrils.

Buddhist monks are traditionally depicted with shaved heads, as required in most monastic communities. Some Chinese ChanClose TooltipChan[chen]the Chinese term for Zen Buddhism. monks, however, diverged from the religious establishment by leading ascetic lives, often spending time in solitude on spiritual retreats. According to his biography, Gaofeng Yuanmiao was a great practitioner of solitary retreats.

Above his left shoulder are two seals: the upper reads “Chūan” and the lower “Kinkō.” These seals identify the artist Chūan KinkōClose TooltipChūan Kinkō[CHOO-un KIN-koh]Japanese painter and Zen monk, active in the early to mid-fifteenth century. of the KenchōjiClose TooltipKenchōji[ken-CHOH-jee]Japanese Zen temple in Kanagawa Prefecture. (temple in KamakuraClose TooltipKamakura[kama-KOO-ra]a city in Eastern Japan. It is the namesake of the historical Kamakura period, 1185–1333., Japan), who was active during the middle of the fifteenth century. His inspiration for this portrait was an earlier Chinese one brought to Japan.

In Gaofeng Yuanmiao’s thirteenth-century portrait in HōunjiClose TooltipHōunji[HOH-un-jee]Japanese Zen temple in Ibaragi Prefecture., he is depicted in a full-length seated posture, facing right. The National Museum of Asian Art’s fifteenth-century portrait of Gaofeng is in a half-bust format and lacks the earlier portrait’s inscription at the top. From a different artist, the Brooklyn Museum’s sixteenth-century portrait of Gaofeng Yuanmiao has a similar half-bust style. Finally, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has a fourteenth-century portrait of Gaofeng Yuanmiao that is also in the half-bust style but is accompanied by a eulogy, which describes who the master was, why it was made, and other details related to Gaofeng.

In these examples above, we see the different ways Zen masters have been portrayed in paintings over time. Despite their differences, the sitters are all depicted with a vivid sense of naturalism and realism. This similarity can be explained by the symbolic function of Zen Buddhism’s chinzōClose Tooltipchinzō[CHIN-zoh]a Japanese term for portraits of Buddhist priests., which is to signify the dharmaClose Tooltipdharma[DHAR-muh]a term of unique importance in Indian culture that has several meanings. In Buddhism, it refers to the Buddha’s teachings or doctrines. In Hindu traditions, dharma refers to the moral code that governs proper behavior. transmission from teacher to student. Comparisons between portraits tell us not only how the sitter appeared in real life but also how the students and religious community understood their role as inspiration for Zen practice over time.

1. What do you see in the painting? What is he wearing?
2. What do you notice about the arrangement of the figure in the painting? What does he seem to be doing in the painting?
3. What did the artists do to show the character of Gaofeng YuanmiaoClose TooltipGaofeng Yuanmiao[gao-FUNG yoo-EN-meow](1238–1295) Chinese Zen monk, twenty-eighth patriarch of Zen Buddhism.? What aspects of the painting are particularly beautiful to you, and why? Why was the color black and white chosen to paint the figure?

1. What are portraits, and why are they made?
2. How are symbols used to express personal qualities in a portrait?
3. Shaving hair or not shaving hair: How does hair and appearance reflect religious belief?
4. What kind of community do Zen Buddhists create by transmitting teachings from master to disciple?

Brinker, Helmut, and Hiroshi Kanazawa. Zen: Masters of Meditation in Images and Writings. Zurich: Artibus Asiae, 1996.

Feltens, Frank, and Yukio Lippit. Sesson Shūkei: A Zen Monk-Painter in Medieval Japan. Munich: Hirmer, 2021.

Foulk, T. Griffith, and Robert H. Sharf. “On the Ritual Use of ChanClose TooltipChan[chen]the Chinese term for Zen Buddhism. Portraiture in Medieval China.” In Chan BuddhismClose TooltipBuddhism[BOOD-hiz-uhm]a widespread Asian religion founded by the Historical Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE. in Ritual Context, edited by Bernard Faure. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.

Levine, Gregory, and Yukio Lippit. Awakenings: Zen Figure Painting in Medieval Japan. New York: Japan Society, 2007.

Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004.

Steiner, Evgeny. “Zen Portraits ChinzōClose Tooltipchinzō[CHIN-zoh]a Japanese term for portraits of Buddhist priests.: Why Do They Look As They Do?” Terebess Asia Online (TAO). 2013. https://terebess.hu/zen/szoto/Chinzo.docx