The Five Hundred Arhats

Also known as: The Five Hundred Arhats (Disciples of Buddha); The Five Hundred Lohans: Disciples of Buddha

About the Artwork

More than 66 feet long, this handscroll depicts 447 luohans, 72 attendants, and the bodhisattva of compassion at its very end. Luohans (arhats in Sanskrit), disciples of the Buddha and protectors of the Buddha’s law, possess supernatural powers and take on myriad external appearances. The amusing assortment of characters are engaged in an array of religious, secular, and miraculous activities. The painter used stylistic features borrowed from earlier artists, carefully controlled lines, and refined coloring. Wu Bin was a lay Buddhist and depicting this sort of image was part of a religious practice seeking understanding of the Buddha’s teaching.

Inscriptions

枝隱頭陀吳彬齋心拜寫 [印]吳彬之印; 文中父; 7 seals of Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95): Gu xi tian zi 古希天子; Shou 壽; Qianlong jian shang 乾隆鑑賞; San xi tang jing jian xi 三希堂精鑑璽; Yi zi sun 宜子孫; Tai shang huang di zhi bao 太上皇帝之寳; Qian qing gong bao 乾清宮寶.; 6 seals of Cheng Qi 程琦 (1911–1988): Ke an geng zi wu shi yi hou suo de ming ji 可菴庚子五十以後所得名跡; 5 other Cheng Qi seals.

Provenance

1736–95: Qing imperial collection (seals of Emperor Qianlong, r. 1736–1795) 1960s?: Cheng Qi 程琦 [1911–1988] by descent to his son, Stephen O. K. Chen ?–1971: Stephen O. K. Chen [20th century], New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1971–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

The Restless Landscape: Chinese Painting of the Late Ming Period. University of California, Berkeley. University Art Museum, Berkeley, CA (organizer) (November 9, 1971-January 2, 1972); Fogg Art Museum/Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (February 11-April 2, 1972). Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972). Asian Autumn: Masterpieces from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17, 1991-January 5, 1992). The Art of Obaku. Kyoto National Museum (organizer) (October 5-November 7, 1993). Silent Poetry: Masterworks of Chinese Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 14, 2015-April 24, 2016). Taming Tigers and Releasing Dragons: Masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist Art – Chinese Gallery Rotation 240a, 241c. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 8-August 11, 2019). Escaping to a Better World: Eccentrics and Immortals in Chinese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 13-November 6, 2022).

Quick Overview

Artist: Wu Bin (Chinese, active c. 1591–1626)
Date: 1591–1626
Medium: Handscroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Overall: 39.5 x 2646.5 cm (15 9/16 x 1041 15/16 in.); Painting only: 37.7 x 2347 cm (14 13/16 x 924 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 1971.16

More by Wu Bin in museum collections

Greeting the Spring
Wu Bin
1600 · Painting
Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of ArtAT-00009451

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.