Ruofen

CHINA, Zhejiang, Jinhua; Southern Song dynasty

Ruofen, born in Wuzhou (present day Jinhua, Zhejiang), had a family name of Cao and was also known as Yurun. He was a monk of the Tiantai school, in addition to being a painter and poet. Although he served as a secretary at Shangzhu Temple in Zhejiang, he was well-known for his Buddhist teachings and drawings of flowers in ink. In his old age, Ruofen is said to have returned to his hometown and lived a simple, unadorned life in a self-made hut.
Skilled in painting landscapes in ink, Ruofen’s works, such as his depiction of Yunshan (Cloud Mountain), were of great magnitude. His paintings, August Tides of Qiantang and Mountain Peaks near West Lake After Snow, are also well-known. The Eight Scenes of Hunan, a series of landscapes of which only three remain, including Boat Returning from Afar, Autumn Moon in Dongting Lake, and Mountain Market, Clear with Rising Mist, was listed as an Important Cultural Property of Japan alongside his painting of Lushan, now kept at the Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art.