Qian Huafo

CHINA, Jiangsu, Wujin

Originally named Qian Suhan and also known as Yuzhai, Qian Huafo was a painter, dramatist, and art collector. He studied in Japan, but returned to China in 1910 to take part in the revolution against the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) in Shanghai. After the revolution, he turned down an offer for an official post and changed his name to Qian Huafo. He started a drama club in Shanghai and established a movie company, aspiring to improve social education through drama.
In painting, he was skilled in portraying the Buddha and named his art studio “Ten Thousand Buddha Building.” His figurative depictions were modeled after Liang Kai and Chen Laolian, while his landscapes imitated Ding Yunpeng and Wu Bin. It is said before painting Buddhist figures, he had a ritual of washing his hands and lighting incense. Qian’s Buddha paintings were lively and plentiful and he often invited luminaries such as Yu Youren, Zhang Binlin, Kang Youwei, and Wang Zhen, to write postscripts on his works.
Some of his paintings include Amitayus Buddha, Bodhidharma, and Arhat, are kept at Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He also authored the Collection of Qian Huafo’s Paintings.