Luohan Sewing Masks

Luóhàn (罗汉, 羅漢) are Buddhist deities who have vowed to help believers and protect the Buddhist teachings, or Dharma, until the coming of the next Buddha. Here, a luóhàn sits on a large rock under a pine tree, carefully threading a needle. There is a traditional subject in East Asian art in which luóhàn are shown performing everyday chores—making sandals, washing laundry, stitching robes—expressing the idea that enlightenment is not only experienced in meditation but permeates all aspects of life.

The painting is done in a classic Chinese style, and in the traditional, arc-shaped folding fan format. However, look closely at the luóhàn’s lap: he is preparing to sew a cloth face mask. Painting this work in 2020, Mansheng Wang, like many people at the beginning of the pandemic, made his own cloth masks to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to save medical-grade masks for frontline workers. He felt that making and wearing masks at that time, reflecting compassion for others, seemed like the kind of thing a luóhàn might do.

The artist's inscription at the left reads:

松蔭縫口罩，物微却神奇。庚子歲大疫橫行，寫口罩羅漢以記之。半升于三人居。

“Sewing a mask in the shade of a pine tree—even the smallest things can be miraculous. In the year 2020, the pandemic is rampant. I painted the Mask Luohan to remember it. Bansheng [Mansheng Wang], in the Hut For Three.”*

*The Hut For Three (Sānrénjū 三人居) is the name of Wang’s studio.