The Soughing of the Wind in the Pines Echoes the Melody of Spring, 1705, Shen Zongjing, Chinese, 56 15/16 ¡Ñ 19 9/16 in. (144.62 ¡Ñ 49.69 cm) (image)81 1/2 ¡Ñ 25 3/4 in. (207.01 ¡Ñ 65.41 cm) (overall, without roller), Ink on silk, China, 18th century, Shen Zongjing, a scholar-official painter of the early 1700s, often painted mountains and streams in shades of black and gray, a manner favored by other scholar-artists. His works express lofty thoughts using powerful brushstrokes. This type of landscape painting is known as chenghuai weidao, or 'purifying one¡¦s mind to savor Dao.' Here, the term 'Dao' refers to the essence of the phenomena embodied in nature. Such paintings always portray one or several seated gentlemen gazing into the distant mountains and waterfalls. It is through such communion between humans and nature that an awakening, a purge, a sublime transcendence of mortal bounds is sensed.