Wu Dao Xuan

Date of birth and death unknown. Painter of the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzong period (712-756) in China. His courtesy name was Daozi, and he was from Yangdi (Yu County, Henan Province). He initially served Wei Sigli, but Xuanzong recognized his talent for painting and made him a doctor of the Naikyo (Chinese Nai Gong), and later became a friend of Xuanzong's older brother Ning Wang Xian. He was skilled in landscapes, ghosts, people, and flowers and birds, but his style was characterized by his quick drawing style, and he would often observe the subject carefully and then complete the work in one go. Under orders from Emperor Xuanzong, he and Li Sixun painted a landscape painting of "The Jialing River of Shudo, Over 300 Miles" for the Datong Hall of the Xingqing Palace. Daxuan completed the work in one day, while Sixun, who excelled in detailed painting, took several months. Xuanzong is said to have praised both for their exquisite work. Another similar anecdote is that he was inspired to paint after seeing the quick and elusive sword dance of General Fe Min. He also led many disciples and was commissioned to paint murals for Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in Chang'an and Luoyang, where he showed off his skills to the fullest. It is said that the emergence of this genius painter completely changed the way painting was done up until that point. Although no original remains of Dogen remain today, we can learn about the approximate period of his activity from records relating to the murals on the western corridor of the Western Zen Hall of the Jingai Temple in Luoyang (722), the Golden Bridge Painted by Emperor Xuanzong during his Shangri-La at Mount Tai (725), and the Five Saints Painted in the Temple of Emperor Xuanyuan in Luoyang (749).

[Rei Yoshimura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。中国、唐代、玄宗時代（712～756）の画家。字(あざな)は道子(どうし)、陽翟(ようてき)（河南省禹(う)県）の人である。初め韋嗣立(いしりつ)に仕えたが、玄宗に画才を認められて内教博士となり、のち玄宗の兄寧王憲(ねいおうけん)の友として遇された。山水、鬼神、人物、花鳥、いずれにも巧みだったが、彼の画風の特徴は速描きで、事物をよく観察したのち一気呵成(かせい)に仕上げるのが常であった。玄宗の命を受けて、李思訓(りしくん)とともに興慶宮(こうけいきゅう)の大同殿に、『蜀道嘉陵江(しょくどうかりょうこう)三百余里』の山水図を描いたが、道玄が1日で完成したのに対して、細密画の得意な思訓は数か月を要した。玄宗はともに妙絶をたたえたという。また、将軍斐旻(はいびん)の剣舞の神出鬼没な早業をみて筆を振るったという話も同様の逸話であろう。また多くの門弟を率いて、長安や洛陽(らくよう)などの仏寺や道観の壁画を請け負い、存分の腕を振るったが、この天才画家の出現によって、従来の絵画は一変したと伝えられる。道玄の真跡は今日なに一つ残っていないが、洛陽敬愛寺西禅院西廊の壁画（722）、玄宗の泰山封禅の際に描いた金橋図（725）、洛陽玄元皇帝廟(びょう)の五聖図（749）などに関する記録から、およその活躍時期を知ることができる。

［吉村　怜］

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