Zhao Zhongyi

CHINA; Later Shu Kingdom

Zhao Zhongyi was a painter and the son of renowned artist, Zhao Dexuan. Alongside his father, Zhao co-painted the 13 murals of the Eastward Spread of Buddhism at Fuqing Chan Monastery in Fujian. The murals exhibited intricately painted and well-organized depictions of Buddhas, towers, figures, landscapes, flora, and fauna.
Emperor Meng Chang (reigned 934–965) of the Later Shu Kingdom once ordered him to produce a painting of General Guanyu Constructing Yuquan Temple. The resulting portrait greatly illustrated his skills and he was subsequently granted the position of a high scholar in the Hanlin Academy, as well as a purple goldfish bag. Later, Zhao painted 10 murals of Heavenly Kings in the company of artists, Huang Quan and Pu Shixun.
Records of Famous Paintings in Yizhou recorded several paintings of Zhao’s including Illustration of the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, a mural on the north wall of the front door of Daci Temple in Sichuan; Heavenly Kings in the rear hall of Stone Sutra Courtyard; and Illustration of Medicine Buddha Sutra on the south wall of Sixth Patriarch Courtyard of Zhong Temple.