六祖斫竹圖
Huj-neng bambuszt hasít
The Sixth Patriarch (Hui Neng) Chopping the Bamboo
Hanging Scroll, ink on paper, 72.7 x 31.5 cm
Tokyo National Museum
Important Cultural Property

Liang Kai's figure painting inherits from the style of fine ink lines by Li Gonglin (李公麟, 1049–1106), a literary artist in the end of the Northern Song dynasty, but with considerable variation. Its main characteristic is its simple and hurried expression in ink. The sixth patriarch cutting the bamboo is, together with Li Bai in Stroll, one of the masterpieces of figure paintings by Liang Kai.

六祖破經圖
Huj-neng összetépi a szútrákat
The Sixth Patriarch (Hui Neng) Tearing up the Sutra
Attributed to Liang Kai
Hanging Scroll, ink on paper, 73 x 31.7 cm.
Collection of Mitsui Takanaru, Mitsui Memorial Museum, Tokyo

A híres párvers A hatodik pátriárka szútrájából
Terebess Gábor fordításában:

A megvilágosulás fája tested,
Tiszta tükör az értelmed.
Törölgesd és dörzsöld folyton,
Nehogy a por rárakódjon.
(Sen-hsziu)

A megvilágosulásnak nincsen fája,
A tükörnek is üres az állványa.
A buddhatermészet tiszta mindenkor,
Vajon hová rakódjon a por?
(Huj-neng)

伝 梁楷、無学祖元賛 『六祖図』（南宋、正木美術館）
A hatodik pátriárka, Huj-neng
The Sixth Patriarch (Hui Neng) in the threshing room, deep in meditation, the wooden pestle across his shoulder
attributed to Liang Kai

Masaki Art Museum (Japanese: 正木美術館 Masaki Bijutsukan)
Tadaoka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, opened in 1968.
The collection, built up by Masaki Takayuki (正木孝之)

潑墨仙人圖 Pomo xianren tu
Részeg halhatalan
Immortal in Splashed Ink
Album leaf, ink on paper, 48.7 x 27.7 cm
National Palace Museum, Taipei

When he was at court, his paintings were admired for their refined brushwork. This album leaf, however, is said to be a masterpiece from his period of drinking and spontaneous painting. The immortal shown here also appears to be somewhat inebriated. As a being of elevated status, his proportions also differ from those of ordinary mortals. The protruding forehead and rounded belly are accented by a few shods of hair and surrounded by unkempt robes that hang loosely down. No lines were used for these parts of the painting as only a few short slanted strokes were employed to define some of the details. Brushwork, however, defines the belt.

The painting was first sketchily rendered in light washes of ink, and then darker ink was applied before the washes had dried in order to convey the weight of the immortal's body. The remaining elements, such as the humorous facial features, were dotted to give the final touch to the immortal's mysterious qualities. Despite the brevity of the work, nothing seems to be missing. This type of brushwork, in which the number of brushstrokes is reduced, is often referred to as "abbreviated brush" and used in Buddhist and Taoist figure painting to convey the untrammeled and supernatural qualities of the supernatural beings. It is said that when Liang K'ai sobered up, he looked upon this painting with a sense of pride.

This is the second leaf from the album "Ming-hua lin-lang."

梁楷所畫的 「仙人圖」
105×44cm
Daoist Immortal by 梁楷 Liang Kai
National Palace Museum, Taipei

Han-san és Si-tö
The Chinese Monks Hanshan and Shide
attributed to Liang Kai
81.2 × 33.1 cm
MOA Museum of Art, Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

布袋和尚
Pu-taj hosang
Budai heshang
31.3 x 24.5 cm
The Shanghai Museum of Art

Pu-taj batyuval a hátán táncra perdül

Budai 布袋圖
Liang Kai 梁楷 (late 12th - early 13th century), Southern Song (1127-1279)
Encomium by Dachuan Puji 大川普濟 (1197-1253)
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 80 x 31.3 cm
Collection of the Ko setsu Museum of Art,
Kobe Important Cultural Property

Encomium:

A bag hangs from a pole, resting on this donkey's back,
An ugly visage and tattered clothes, startling gods and men,
This idiosyncratic character plays tricks upon the poor,
Now, and forever, in shambolic disarray.

Reverently eulogised by Dachuan Puji.

主丈橫挑袋垂驢背， 醜質枯衣，人天荊棘， 箇様風家伎倆窮， 千古萬古成狼藉。

大川普濟敬賛

„Fenghua Hszienben, Mingcsouban élt Pu-taj, akit Rongyos Zsák mesternek hívtak, mert olyanra hízott, mint egy jól kitömött batyu. A homloka szűk volt, a pocakja kövér, a beszéde szokatlan. Ott hevert le mindig, ahol rájött az alhatnék. Gyakran szundikált a hóban, csak úgy ültében, felhúzott térdekkel, de nem esett baja. A vállán átvetett boton lógott a batyuja, mindenét abban hordta magával. A vásártéren válogatás nélkül összekoldult bármit, amit csak meglátott, hogy megegye vagy eladja. Jövendőmondásban sosem tévedett. Eső előtt vízbe áztatott szalmabocskort viselt, száraz időben magaslábú sársarut. A környékbeli emberek figyelték a jövését-menését, és ebből tudták, milyen idő várható. 917-ben halt meg összefont lábakkal a Jüe-lin templom keleti tornácán ülve. Ám halála után is gyakran látták kószálni batyuval a hátán, és a szerzetesek versengtek egymással, melyikük tudja élethűbben megfesteni Pu-taj alakját.”

(Terebess Gábor fordítása)

「鶏骨図」
Pu-taj kakasviadalt néz
Fighting Cocks
Hanging scroll, painted in ink on paper, 78.0 x 32.4 cm
松永記念館 Matsunaga Memorial Hall (Matsunaga Kinenkan)
No. 943, Itabashi, Odawara-shi, Kanagawa-ken

Matsunaga Yasuzaemon (1875-1971) was one of the great industrialists and art collectors of the 20th century. He made his fortune in power companies and retired from that world at the age of sixty and took the Tea name Jian (part of a saying from the Analects of Confucius, basically meaning "follow your ear after sixty"). In 1946 he built a Tea house called Roukyosou (Old Zelkova House) in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, to display his immense collection. Of course, not all at once, but depending on the season and guests. Matsunaga's collection has been displayed at the Tokyo National Museum. Roukyosou was purchased by the City of Odawara and is now part of the Matsunaga Jian Memorial Museum.

Árva csészémből ezer család rizsét eszem,
Tízezer mérföldön át magamban kószálok.
Botorok szavát készpénznek nem veszem,
Az igazságra fehér felhők közt találok.

(Pu-taj verse Terebess Gábor fordításában)

Fen-kan 豐幹

Fenggan 豐干圖 (active 627-649)
Attributed to Liang Kai 梁楷 (late 12th - early 13th century)
Before 1216, Southern Song (1127-1279)
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 90.5 x 32 cm
Private Collection, Tokyo
Important Cultural Property

Encomium by Shiqiao Kexuan 石橋可宣 (d. ca. 1217):

Old blether Fenggan, totally unashamed,
“Hanshan is not of the same line as you”,
At that moment you killed governor Lü Qiu on his behalf,
The autumn moon in the clear pool, night after night of sorrow.

Kexuan of Jingshan bows and eulogises.

饒舌豐干不自羞，
寒山不是儞同流，
當時 「彳＋青」殺閭丘守，
秋月澄 潭夜夜愁。
徑山可宣拜書 。

Seals: Jing shan shi qiao 徑山石橋

Seal of Ashikaga Yoshinoi 足利義教 (1394-1441): 雜華室印

李白行吟圖
Li Taj-po szaval
Li Po Chanting a Poem / Li Bai in Stroll
Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 81.1 x 30.5 cm
Tokyo National Museum

This picture shows the genius poet Li Bai (李白, 701-762) in all his splendor using simple strokes of ink. The owner's seal applied to the painting means "seal of great ancient official" in Paspa script and is said to be the seal of Anigo who served the Yuan dynasty. From a copy owned by the Kanô clan, it is known to have formed a pair with a picture by Dongfang Shuo (東方朔, ca.161-93 BC) in the Edo period (1603-1868). The fact that it used to be owned by Matsudaira Fumai, shows its noble origins.

Minden madár a széllel ellebeg,
s velük repülnek mind a fellegek.
De én s a jó öreg csingtingi hegypást
még ernyedetlen kedvvel nézzük egymást.

(Franyó Zoltán fordítása)

Sákjamuni lejön a hegyről
Chushan shijia tu (1204 CE)
Śākyamuni Emerging from the Mountains 釋迦出山圖
(Sakyamuni Descending the Mountain after Asceticism)
Ca. 1201-4, Southern Song (1127-1279)
Hanging scroll, ink and colours silk, 119 x 52 cm
Tokyo National Museum, TA 617 National Treasure

Signature from lower left:
Painter in Attendance Liang Kai 御前圖畫樑楷.

Liang Kai was also good at detailed and solemn figure painting with colors. This picture depicts an image of Sakyamuni who failed to attain wisdom, in spite of a long period of ascetic practices, descending from his abode on the mountain. Its precise and realistic expression of the figure is extremely superb. Its seal, "Liang Kai, painted before his excellency," indicates that it was painted in the Imperial Palace, and it is a masterpiece of Liang Kai's color figure painting.

羲之書扇圖
Vang Hszi-cse legyezőt „dedikál"
Wang Xizhi Calligraphing a Fan
Album leaf, ink on paper, 31.3 x 58.9 cm
National Palace Museum, Taipei 

Liang K'ai served as a Painter-in-Attendance in the Chia-t'ai era (1201-1204) at the court of Emperor Ning-tsung. Liang K'ai specialized in figure painting. Due to his reduction of the brushwork for a spirited effect, his style has been described as "abbreviated brushwork".

The subject of this work is an anecdote about China's Sage Calligrapher Wang Hsi-chih (321-379). He is shown helping an old lady sell her fan by inscribing it with his famous calligraphy. Behind is an attendant holding an inkstone. The expressions of the figures are lively and the drapery is done with fluid brushwork. Although not necessarily a work by Liang K'ai, the artist here was still able to capture the essence of the abbreviated "sketching ideas" style of brushwork.

Zeyan xingyin tu 澤畔行吟圖
Láp partján barangoló költő
Poet Strolling by a Marshy Bank
Fan mounted as an album leaf; ink on silk
22.9 x 24.3 cm
Signed: "Liang Kai"
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Kócsagok
Herons
W. 24.9 cm
This work depicts rocks and water with abbreviated brush strokes and the effect of the beautiful gradation of ink on the bottom left-hand is remarkable. Two herons are seen on either side of reeds depicted with sharp horizontal strokes. One bird is resting by the water and the other is flying full alert. This picture is included in “Tōhaku gasetsu”, a collection of Hasegawa Tōhaku's view on art and it appears again in the record of the tea ceremony held on September 23rd, 1561 chronicled by Sōtatsu.
MOA Museum of Art, Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

疏柳寒鸦图
26.4cm × 24.2cm
Beijing Palace Museum

三高游赏图页
Három öreg írástudó
Three old scholars under a pine tree. Ink on silk, album leaf, signed. Hui-hua Kuan
26 × 25.2 cm
Beijing Palace Museum

Két madár és őszi fűz
Autumn Willow and Double Crows
Ink and color on silk
24.7 × 25.7 cm
Palace Museum of Beijing

On a rounded fine silk, the thin elastic twig of a weathered willow painted with charred ink slants the picture into two parts. The autumn wink blows off the delicate willow twigs to the right, separating a couple of cold crows, screaming and flying. Thin cloud in light ink is alternately indistinct or visible; the picture is structured like a Yin and Yang fish, a breakaway from convention. Only a free-spirited painter like Liang Kai could stand out from academy painters, who were obsessed with rigor and refinement. And only Liang Kai was capable of such outrageous structure, and such simple yet powerful works.

Vízimadarak és nádas
Waterfowl and Reeds
Attributed to Liang Kai
hanging scroll, ink on silk, Overall - h:23.00 w:22.90 cm
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1984.4

Han-san és Si-tö (részlet)
Detail of Hanshan and Shide attributed to Liang Kai
Masaki Art Institute, Osaka

Részeg szerzetes
An Old Drunkard
Count Matsudaira Collection

普化振鈴図 伝梁楷筆
Puhua Ringing a Bell, attributed to Liang Kai,
Nomura Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan

Monk eating a pig's head; Monk holding a shrimp. Masuda. Kokka No. 114. C http://www.coldbacon.com/kensu.html

Hsien-tzu ("Clam"; Japanese: Kensu) and Chu-t'ou ("Pig's Head"; Japanese: Choto) are two typical Ch'an characters. Although they were originally in no way related or associated, they are often depicted on scrolls that form a pair. Their association is probably due to the non-vegetarian habits that they share, which set them apart from the regular Buddhist clergy to whom such habits were anathema.

Hsien-tzu is supposed to have been a disciple of Tung-shan Liang-chieh (807-869). He was not a Ch'an monk in the usual sense, however. Dressed in the same rags in summer and winter, he roamed the riverside with his fishing net in search of shrimps and clams, which formed his staple diet. At night he would sleep among the offerings of paper money made to the White Horse Shrine on Eastern Mountain. It was said that he attained Enlightenment while catching shrimp.

The identity of Hsien-tzu's companion Chu-t'ou is rather unclear. His name means pig's head and he is usually shown eating a pig's head or holding one in his hands. He is usually said to represent a certain Chih Meng-hsu who was fond of eating pig and was therefore called "Pig's Head." There is nothing in Chih's biography, however, that could justify his inclusion in the Ch'an pantheon of eccentrics.

There are two other Ch'an stories, which possibly could be relevant to this theme. The first concerns the monk Wen-shu Ssu-yeh who started his career as a butcher. One day, on the point of killing yet another pig, he suddenly realized the error of his ways in a flash of revelation. He quit his trade to become a monk and composed the following gatha on the occasion:

Yesterday the heart of a [bloodthirsty] Yaksa,
Today the face of a Bodhisattva.
Between the Bodhisattva and the Yaksa
There is not a shred of difference.