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Bodhidharma Crossing the Yangzi on a Reed

1300s

Medium: hanging scroll; ink on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Painting only: 91.1 x 36.5 cm (35 7/8 x 14 3/8 in.); Overall: 175 x 38.5 cm (68 7/8 x 15 3/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 175 x 43 cm (68 7/8 x 16 15/16 in.)
Culture: China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed

About this work

Chan Buddhism was introduced to China in the early 500s by the Indian monk Bodhidharma, or Puti Damo (died before 534). Upon his arrival in China, Bodhidharma was allegedly granted an audience with the Liang dynasty emperor Wu (reigned 502–49). Realizing the emperor did not understand his mission, the monk left Nanjing, crossed the Yangzi on a reed, and settled north in Henan province’s Shaolin monastery. Here, Bodhidharma is sketched in few pale brushstrokes. The diluted and swift lines on an empty ground emphasize the Chan idea that all things are illusionary.

The inscription reads: Wind rises from the reed flowers, the waves are high; It’s a long way to go beyond the cliff of the Shaoshi mountain; Above the worlds of kalpas a flower is opening into five petals; So that your barefoot heels are just fine for the whipping rattans. —translated by Wai-Kam Ho