Water Buffalo and Herdboys
Unknown Artist
late 1200s–early 1300s
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on silk
Dimensions
109 × 63 cm · image: 23.8 × 50.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Herbert F. Leisy in memory of his wife, Helen Stamp Leisy
Accession Number
1977.200
About this artwork
In southern China, farmers use water buffalos to help plow their fields, which children often tend. In Buddhist teachings, the subject of herding or taming an ox was used to illustrate the 10 steps to enlightenment, or spiritual awakening. A single image may be read as a metaphorical representation of the Chan process of attaining enlightenment, the difficulty of which was likened to that of finding a strayed buffalo. Here, a buffalo is watered by a boy, another takes a bath in the pond. Chan pa...