After Eastern Han Dynasty when Buddhism began to disseminate in China,lotus,taken as the devine flower representing Heaven and symbolizing purity,had become the main theme of many decorations and the motif of paintings.Therefore an artwork with such theme embodies the desirable Pure Land for our bodies and minds to experience the absolute liberties to free ourselves from all the vexations of this mortal world.
In this painting,the lotus flowers in full blossom is executed in washes of ink and colour without outlines presenting the charms of a free-hand painting and the implication of the noble moral integrity of “Emerging unstained from the fifth”.Such qualities of extraordinary beauty and grace can only be expressed after careful observation of the subject and the distinctive technique to coalesce the traditional expressive power of brush of Chinese painting with the westernized visual aspect of depicting volume,light,shadow and texture.
As for the setting,the billowing mists and clouds seem entirely detached from earth;and the whole compostion appears to be in a state of perpetual motion and change,while the static dragonfly landing at the rim of a lotus leaf is set off as an amusing contrast.This painting has a dream-like quality of the divine fairy realms which maybe is the aspirational place of many people.