The mountain landscape exemplifies the revered style of landscape brush painting that was first developed and perfected during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) . It was painted around 1663 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by a well-known Chinese artist named Kuncan (c.1612-1675). Kuncan, also known as Shiqi, was a Chan (Zen) Buddhist painter monk who used both religion and nature as models of inspiration throughout his paintings. Mountain Landscape, a hanging scroll measuring 41 5/8 x 11 1/8 inches, is painted on paper using ink and light colors. The painting is in Gallery 113 at the Dayton Art Institute and its accession number is 1976.277. The viewer begins their journey at the foot of the mountain landscape, passing rocks and shrubs while contemplating the quiet rest of nature. The viewer's eye then wanders through the trees to a small figure who has taken a sitting or kneeling position. The character appears to be in a meditative state, drawing inspiration and peace from his natural surroundings. A gated cabin sits a short distance from the figure, a mere dot in the vast desert. To the left of the cabin, a group of trees remain shrouded in mist, adding a mysterious, ethereal quality to the painting. A towering mountain looms in the background, engulfing the tranquil scene below. Streams of languid waterfalls gush from the mountain's crevices, providing a stark contrast to the mountain's overhanging rock. A small village is nestled into the mountainside, partially hidden by a mix of fir trees and jagged, leafless trees. The viewer's journey through the painting ends with a vast jutting mountain range, which seems to blend into the distant skies. The upper right corner of the table p...... middle of paper ...... on China's tumultuous history. The Qing dynasty began when the Manchus, foreigners from the north, overthrew the weakened Ming dynastic rulers in 1644. Kancun, a young man at the fall of the Ming dynasty, was deeply troubled by the Chinese's rise to political and economic power. Manchus. This resentment was shared by other literate painters and led to the formation of a group of artists known as the Individualists. In the book Art Beyond the West, the Individualists are described as "Ming loyalists who were dissatisfied with the hegemony of the new foreign dynasty" (M. Kampen-O'Riley 141). Accordingly, they sought to distance themselves from his corrupting influence by fleeing to the mountain sanctuaries. The mountain landscape personifies Kuncan's disappointment with modern civilization while depicting his revered love for nature and the strength he received from the natural forces of life..