Chinese Piling paintings

The Piling School was a genre of Chinese painting, named for its place of origin, now Changzhou in Jiangsu province.

Such paintings and associated art works are a reflection of the vigorous medieval overseas trade between China and Japan.

Although their surviving works are few, the clear influence of their painting can be readily seen in shards of Yuan period blue-and-white porcelain from the Jingdezhen production area.

An exception are the hanging scrolls in the Chion-in Monastery collection in Kyoto that bear seal designating the “Lotuses and Birds” compositions as done by a “Mr.

The “Egrets and Lotuses” scrolls now in the Tokyo National Museum are typical of works closer to the year 1300.