Dai Yong

CHINA, Anhui, Suzhou; Eastern Jin to Liu Song dynasty (317–479)

Dai Yong was a musician, painter, and sculptor. He was born in Zhixian (present day Suxian, Suzhou) as the second son of the famed artist, Dai Kui. Together with his elder brother, Dai Bo, he learned music, chess, and painting. Dai studied Buddhism and eventually withdrew to the mountains, turning down many offers from the imperial court. He was recorded as a well-known figure in Biography of Recluse within the Book of Song.
When he was young, he accompanied his father to many temples, illustrating and sculpting Buddhist statues. It is said that a golden statue was cast at Waguan Temple in Jiangsu, but there were flaws in the facial area of the figure. Not a single artist was capable of alleviating the problem, but when Dai Yong saw it, he noted immediately that it was a result of the shoulders and arms being proportionally larger, the face thus appeared too thin. To correct this imperfection, they cut away parts of the shoulders and arms to make the statue more visually balanced.