Buddha's Conversion of Five Bhiksu

Also known as: Buddha’s Conversion of Five Bhiksu 佛渡五比丘圖

About the Artwork

This episode stems from the life of the historical Buddha, who, after his enlightenment, was initially hesitant about preaching his own doctrine. After much personal deliberation and prodding by deities, he finally relented. The first converts were the five guards who served him when he was still a prince. For Li Sheng, this is the pretext of the painting, which moves from the interaction of the bhiksu with the Buddha to a broader awareness of the vast surroundings of the scene.

Inscriptions

紫篔生李升識 [印] 李氏子雲; 4 colophons and 12 additional seals: The "Heart" Sutra (Maha Prajnaparamita) text written by Wu Yuqing 吳餘慶 (active early 1400s); 2 seals of Xu Qianxue 徐乾學 (1631–1694); 3 colophons, one dated 1929 and two dated 1936, and 9 seals of Wu Hufan 吳湖帆 (1894–1968); 1 colophon, dated 1932, of Chen Dingshan; 1 seal unidentified.

Exhibition history

Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 2-November 24, 1968). The Artist as Collector: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the C.C. Wang Family Collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 3, 1999-January 9, 2000). The Plum Scenery Studio: Wu Hufan and His Circle in Modern Shanghai. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 31-November 8, 2026).

Quick Overview

Artist: Li Sheng (Chinese, active c. 1324–after 1375)
Date: mid-1300s
Medium: handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: Painting only: 26.7 x 110.5 cm (10 1/2 x 43 1/2 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Chinese Art
Credit line: Bequest of Mrs. A. Dean Perry
Accession no.: 1997.92

Provenance

Xu Qianxue 徐乾學 [1631–1694] 1929–c. 1949: Wu Hufan 吳湖帆 [1894–1968], Shanghai, China, to C. C. Wang c. 1949–? before 1968: (C. C. Wang 王季遷 [1907–2003], New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. A. Dean Perry) ? by 1968–1997: Mr. A. [Albert] Dean Perry [1909–1987] and Mrs. A. Dean [Helen Wade Greene] Perry [1911–1996], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1997–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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