Legend has it that the dragon king used to cause trouble using floods, and hid the Buddhist scriptures in his palace. After he was tamed by Kāśyapa ārya, the scriptures were retrieved, and Kāśyapa ārya became known as the dragon-taming Arhat. Xia Jing Shan accurately depict the stances the ārya and the dragon king takes as they confront each other. In terms of composition, the rocks on which the ārya is squatting and the waves that the dragon king brings with him each take up half of the painting, show that they are evenly matched, and brining tension to it. However, the slightly higher positioning of the rocks compared to the waves also hints at the eventual result of this confrontation.
简中｜罗汉（迦叶尊者 降龙罗汉）
Paintings
Xia Jing Shan
ink and colors on silk
44x37
1985
bj6060
