Rubbing of Bodhidharma crossing the Yangtze River on a reed.
Revered as the first patriarch of the Chinese chan (Japanese Zen) Buddhist tradition, Bodhidharma was an Indian monk who came and stayed in China between the end of the 5th and the first decades of the 6th century.
Over time, the few biographical fragments have been amplified into hagiographic stories, giving rise to a rich and imaginative production of original stories and iconography.
One of these portrays him balancing on a reed as he crosses the Yangtze River, in reference to his removal from the court of Emperor Wu of Liang to head towards northern China.
The heroic and powerful figure of Bodhidharma, improbably supported by a cane, evokes the supernatural powers attributed to him and his unconventional personality.
The shoe hanging from the stick instead refers to another legend, according to which three years after his death Bodhidharma was seen in Central Asia as he returned to India wearing only one shoe.
Technique: black ink on paper.
In the museum since 1925. Shaolin origin.
