Kuan-yin of the Fish Basket Wu Pin (fl. 1568-1627), Ming Dynasty Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, 187.8 x 85 cm           Wu Pin was a native of Fukien who settled in Nanking. He specialized in painting landscapes, birds-and-flowers, and Buddhist and Taoist figures.           It is said that in 817, during the T'ang dynasty, there was a beautiful maiden who sold fish from a basket. With many suitors, she indicated that she would marry the man who could memorize overnight the Kuan-yin chapter from the "Lotus Sutra" or the "Diamond Sutra". As it turned out, many were able to do so. She thereupon said that she would betroth the suitor who could also memorize the entire text of the "Lotus Sutra" in three days. Only one young man, surnamed Ma, succeeded and they thereupon married. Immediately afterwards, however, she fell ill and died. Only then was it learned that the beautiful girl was a manifestation of Kuan-yin. Hence, she became known as Kuan-yin of the Fish Basket and as Mrs. Ma Kuan-yin.           In this representation, she wears straw sandals and holds a sutra scroll as a child attendant stands next to her holding a fish basket. Though Kuan-yin here is supposed to be a young maiden, the heavyset features of the oval face seem to lack the beauty with which she was associated. The disproportionate size between her and the attendant makes her seem unusually large and elongated. The drapery lines are also done using coarse strokes with thick ink. Nonetheless, many of the lines are curved and parallel, imparting an unusual yet appealing quality to this painting.