Earlier scholarship on the unsigned Scroll of Buddhist Images in the National Palace Museum collection has, on the basis of Miao-kuang’s colophon of 1180, attributed the work to the hand of the painter Chang Sheng-wen in the Kingdom of Ta-li. However, judging from the presence of different painting styles, it appears that the piece was in fact a cooperative work done by multiple artists. The key participants in question were Tuan Chih-hsing (Emperor Li-chen of Ta-li) and Chang Sheng-wen. The former completed the representation of the Emperor Li-chen paying homage to the Buddha, while the later led the production of the Buddhist Images section of the scroll. Chang Sheng-wen (?-after 1205), a native of Ta-li known as “The Leading Master of the Southern Lands,’’ was prominently active in the region for over thirty years. The contrast between the bright colors used for many of the figures and spare black outlines applied to the mandorlas, halos, and platforms--marked by the absence of color washes, suggests the painting may have very likely been interrupted by the power struggle for the position of premier between Kao’s Yü-ch’eng clique and the Kuan-yin party that occurred in the 1170s. On this basis, the author suggests a probable date for the work between 1172 and 1176.
