Album of Daoist and Buddhist Themes: Search the Mountain: Leaf 43

This leaf and the one nearby belongs to a group of sketches with the theme “Clearing the Mountains” (soushan tu). The textual basis has long been lost; only the paintings survive. Here, fearsome divine soldiers fight against evil spirits depicted as animals and human-like creatures in mountains and forests. At the lower left, a soldier attacks a ram. To the right, two soldiers attempt to subdue a tiger. Three soldiers (one wielding a sword) emerge from an opening in the cliffs.