Buddha Scrolls Make New Guinness World Records

As China's first long scroll painter, Li has made five new Guinness World Records.

The first, in 1995, was his 1,000-meter-long line drawing of 84,000 Buddhas, which took him ten months. The second came two years later, when his 4,744-meter-long scroll painting, comprising a Han Dynasty Poets section, and two others featuring 84,000 and 10,000 Buddhas -- a total of 24 pictures comprising 162,188 figures -- won him another Guinness World Record. After an entire year's painstaking labor, Li's third Guinness World Record came in October 1998, with his One Million Bodhidharma, 1,300 meters long and 0.66 meter wide, bearing striking representations of 168,000 Buddhas.

Li's three Buddha scrolls -- the 84,000 Buddhas, the 10,000 Buddhas, and the one million Bodhidharma -- are noted for their extraordinarily individual representations of Buddha. They also compensate in some way for the gaps in China's Buddhist culture.

Despite Buddhism's long history, and its influence the world over, Buddhist paintings and artists are rare. Li's works are all full frontal views of Buddha, each with a totally different facial expression.

"Line King"

Li was born into a worker's family in Fuxin, Liaoning Province in 1954. The various stone inscriptions on nearby Haitang Mountain became a source of inspiration to him.

At age eight, painting entered Li's life. Soon after came the realization that a thorough training in line drawing is prerequisite to a mastery of drawing skills.

After gaining admission to study at the Shenyang Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Li devoted himself totally to painting. He took care always to be at least one step ahead of his classmates. When, for instance, they finished one piece of work each in a week, he would already have completed several hundred, and from different angles. As soon as he took up his brush, inspiration came naturally, and his innermost feelings were expressed through vivid characterization. His hard work and achievements in this respect earned him the nickname "line king."

In the decades that followed, Li maintained his pace. His line drawings embodied his thoughts, pursuits, feeling of responsibility, and sense of values. Years of painstaking work eventually resulted in his attaining the "nirvana of perfection."

Modern Version of Qingming Festival by the Riverside

Li's studio covers an area of only 12 square meters, half of which is taken up by a kang (heatable brick bed). He sits on a small folding chair and, bending over the kang, works for several hours at a time.

It was in this crude studio that he created the long scroll Shanghuitu, inspired by Song Dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan's Qingming Festival by the Riverside. As he believed the original painting inadequately represents the political, economic, and cultural background of the Song Dynasty, he traveled extensively to famous mountains and great rivers, conducting careful research into Song Dynasty folk customs. The whole scroll encompasses 50,000 figures (men of letters, businesspeople, farmers, beauties, actors, and pilgrims), 40 grand scenarios, (100 people flying kites, 1,000 people celebrating the Lantern Festival, and 10,000 people doing the yangko dance), as well as thousands of trees, and hundreds of houses. It merits the title "encyclopedia of Song Dynasty folk customs."

When Li finished the scroll in 1991, the State Postal Bureau featured it on a prepaid postcard. At a length of 27.72 meters, it is China's first scroll postcard, and was authenticated as the world's longest prepaid postcard the following year by the Shanghai Guinness World Records Headquarters.

Meditation

On meeting Li Zongyi, I could not help asking, "Where does your inspiration come from?"

Li replied, "It comes from years of accumulation, practice, and training in basic skills. As soon as I take up the brush, paintings flow naturally from it, to the extent that inking it holds me up."

"Have you ever been influenced by any other Buddha paintings?"

"I have never imitated others. Sakyamuni was a prince, but it was only when he abandoned his high status, and understood that all sensory perceptions are illusory that he truly embraced Buddhism. I, also, must banish all distracting thoughts from my mind if I am to give a true and vital presentation of Buddha."

"Since you've painted so many Buddhas, you must have read Buddhist scriptures."

"I've studied Buddhist imagery, but not Buddhist scriptures."

Li's son also paints Buddhas. Li Zongyi said, "Our goal is to paint all legendary Buddhas, and to establish a Buddhist art museum in our hometown."

(China Today January 24, 2003)