page_title: Xianzi (monk)
section_title: Visual Representation
hierarchical_section_title: Xianzi (monk) / Visual Representation
caption_attribution_description: English: Painted by the Japanese artist Yōgetsu in the early 16th century, this ink painting of Xianzi, the Shrimp Eater is the left painting in a pair with one of Zhutou, the Pig-head Eater.
context_page_description: Xianzi, or Kensu in Japanese, also known as the Shrimp Eater, was a semi-historical Chan/Zen monk, considered to be one of the “scattered sages, ” who were deviant or otherwise unusual figures within the Chan tradition. Infamous for his iconoclastic breaking of the taboo on eating meat set forth in the Vinaya Code of monastic rules, the Shrimp Eater appears in several traditional Zen paintings as both a comedic figure that underscores the Zen tradition of humor, as well as an eccentric, enlightened individual.
context_section_description: Although his name can be translated as “Master Clam” and in his biography he is said to have eaten both shrimp and clams, Xianzi is always painted holding a shrimp in his hand and never a clam. Additionally, he is frequently painted with his fishing net in one hand to show that he caught his prey himself. His beard is always painted with blurry grey brushstrokes, and although his robes are always relatively simple and never decorated or elaborate, sometimes they more closely resemble the traditional robes of monk, rather than those of a peasant. His humble lifestyle is never drawn into question and his poverty is always made clear. Lastly, all known paintings of Xianzi show him eating shrimp – details of his life outside of his shrimp-eating habit are sometimes alluded to in the inscriptions and poems written at the top of the painting, but they are never explicitly shown.
  Much of Xianzi's iconography remains the same from painting to painting, but there seem to be three general categories of depicting him; in one, Xianzi holds the shrimp above his head with his mouth open as if to eat it, while in the second he holds it in front of his face at eye level, intently examining it. In the former category, Xianzi is also frequently smiling and standing more informally, while in the latter category his posture is more restrained. Although when Xianzi is painted looking at the shrimp with his mouth closed he can either be wearing the robes of a monk or the simpler, more ragged robes of the destitute, he is never painted both with his mouth open to eat the shrimp and the robes of a monk. In those paintings, his dress is not representative of the monastic tradition. The third way in which Xianzi is painted shows him actually fishing, with one shrimp already in his hand to show what exactly he is doing. He is intent on his work and pursues no other activities.
  Like many paintings done of the “scattered sages,” all paintings of Xianzi are done in the style of apparition painting. They are monochromatic ink paintings, frequently executed on hanging scrolls. The reason for the dominance of this particular style is that even though most paintings of Xianzi and other Scattered Sages were done by monk painters, it is understood that the audience they were trying to appeal to was the Chinese literati and scholastic community of Song Dynasty China, which preferred the apparition painting style. These paintings were frequently given as gifts to members of the scholar elite, and so they naturally reflected the tastes of their recipients.
caption: The Zen Eccentric Xianzi. Painted in the early 16th century Muromachi Period Japan by Josetsu.
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