Han Qiu

CHINA, Henan, Sanmenxia; Tang dynasty

Han Qiu was a painter from Shan (present day Shanxian, Sanmenxia). He was provincial governor of Binzhou (present day Taiyuan, Shanxi), but retired in 907 and devoted himself to painting. Han, together with Li Zhuqi, studied under Wu Daozi, a renowned painter of the Tang dynasty (618–907). The two were referred to as Han-Li. They were later commissioned by Emperor Li Keyong (896–907) of the Jin dynasty to illustrate over 200 murals along the corridors of Longxing Temple in Henan. The murals, measuring approximately 2.4 m in height, featured the stories of Kasyapa-Matanga and Dharmaraksa, who brought Buddhist sutras to China from India. The creation of these famous images were documented Addendum to Famous Paintings of the Five Dynasties. The Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings records 13 of Han’s scroll paintings including Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and Bodhisattva Making a Flower Offering. The Evaluation of Painters also records both Han and Li’s biographies.