Fang Congyi (1302-1393) was a trained Daoist priest. In his 40's he travelled to Khanbaliq (present day Beijing ) the Mongol capital and began painting. He ended his life at the Shangqing Temple on Mount Longhu (Dragon Tiger Mountain).
According to Daoist geomantic beliefs, a powerful life energy pulsates through mountain ranges and watercourses in patterns known as longmo (dragon veins). In Cloudy Mountains, he embues mountains with an expressive liveliness that defies their physical structure. The great mountain range, weightless and dematerialized, resembles a dragon ascending into the clouds.
Original size 26.4 × 144.8 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. 1973.121.4