Yuchi Yiseng

CHINA, Xinjiang, Hotan; Tang dynasty

Yuchi Yiseng was a monk and painter from Central Asia. The emperor of Hotan recommended him to Emperor Taizong (reigned 626–649) of the Tang dynasty, and he was subsequently granted the title of Duke. He became a monk in 706 and lived in Feng’en Temple.
Skilled in painting the Buddha, portraits, as well as flowers and birds, Yuchi painted several temple murals around Chang’an (present day Xi’an, Shaanxi) and Luoyang. The majority of his paintings depict dance scenes of different tribes in Central Asia, but incorporated scenes from the Western Pure Land. He was skilled in three-dimensional painting, which was a typical stylistic feature of Central Asian art.
Yuchi’s mural of Manjusri with Thousand Bowls, located below the south entrance of Daci’en Temple Pagoda in Shaanxi, was recorded in Famous Paintings in History and Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings. A painting of Vaisravana Heavenly King attributed to him is now kept at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., USA.