The Immortal Hanshan

A popular Chan (Zen) Buddhist personality, Hanshan is best known from the Tang dynasty (618–906) anthology titled “Cold Mountain Poems” (“Hanshan shi”). The poems depict him as a friendly hermit, dressed in simple clothing and living a carefree life as a wanderer on Cold Mountain. In this painting, an unkempt Hanshan sits cross-legged beneath a tree tangled with vines, holding a brush. The inkstone and scroll on the ground beside him tell us he is a poet.