Keywords
Art History
Painting
Ch: Ma Shihuang. An ancient, legendary practitioner of Daoist arts and horse doctor during the rule of Emperor Huang (Ch: Huangdi; Jp: Kōtei 黄帝). According to 2nd- or 3rd-century Legends of Various Immortals (Ch: Liexianzhuan; Jp: Ressenden 列仙伝), Ba Shikō had so mastered equestrian science that by simply looking at a horse he could accurately predict its life-span. In painting, he is usually pictured with a large horse or riding on the back of a friendly dragon whose loyalty he had won by healing it. The theme was popular with painters of the Kano school *Kano-ha 狩野派, Sansetsu 山雪 (1589/90-1651) in particular.