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Liu Haichan

1300s

Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Image: 105 x 38 cm (41 5/16 x 14 15/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 182.8 x 59.1 cm (71 15/16 x 23 1/4 in.)
Culture: China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368)
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese Art
Credit line: Edward L. Whittemore 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

Liu Haichan is a Daoist immortal sometimes included in the Eight Immortals. He is often shown as a young man wearing bangs across his forehead. He was said to have lived during the Five Dynasties period (907–979) and left his position as a grand councilor to become a hermit. Usually depicted carrying a string of coins and accompanied by a three-legged toad, Liu Haichan became a god of wealth and his toad symbolizes wealth as well. In this scroll, Liu is teasing the three-legged toad with a string of coins tied to his waist