Ba Yi

CHINA, Shaanxi, Baoji; Later Liang dynasty

Ba Yi was a painter from Qianyang of Baoji who specialized in depicting Buddhist and Daoist figures and produced many large-scale paintings. He took great pride in his work.
According to Addendum to Famous Paintings of the Five Dynasties, between 921 and 923, monk Yixuan at Guang’ai Temple in Shanxi recruited various painters to compete in a mural painting competition. Ba was invited to participate, but lost to Zhang Tu. He was later invited to paint Dharma protector figures in the main hall of Fuxian Temple where he was challenged by Li Luohan to another competition. He dedicated all his efforts to the work, resulting in monumental paintings that were ultimately considered the masterpieces of his career. As a result, Li admitted defeat. Competitions such as this, and others that occurred during this era, aided in the prosperity and creation of Buddhist temple murals.