Portraits of the Ten Masters 玄元十子图

Painted by Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty.

It consists of one volume and is included in the Spiritual Diagram Category of The Dongzhen Section within The Daozang.

Portraits of the Ten Masters

There is a postscript written by Zhao Mengfu in the 13th year of the Zhiyuan reign (1286) at the beginning of the volume, which states: "My master (Du Daojian) ordered me to paint portraits of Laozi and his ten disciples, and to compile eleven biographies by collecting the words of various scholars." The book contains portraits of Xuanyuan Laozi and the ten disciples of Daoism. The ten disciples are Guanzi, Wenzi, Gengsangzi, Nanrongzi, Yinwenzi, Tuchengzi, Xingquzi, Bojuzi, Liezi and Zhuangzi, each with a separate portrait and an accompanying inscribed biography (a short account). The portraits are drawn with single-line linework and possess considerable artistic merit.