Dim.: 65,5 x 49 cm (the frame)
Dim.: 47 x 29,5 cm (the work)

Jean Bouchaud (1891–1977) is a French painter known for his ethnographic portraits. The painting bears an inscription in Chinese identifying the sitter as “Abbot Monk Liao Ran 了然 of Qiongzhu Temple 筇竹寺” on the upper right, Bouchaud’s signature on the lower left, and the location and date, “Yun Nan Fou 1925” (Kunming, 1925), also noted on the right. This rare portrayal of a Buddhist leader serves as both an artistic masterpiece and a historical document of early 20th-century China.

Qiongzhu Temple, also known as the Bamboo Temple 筇竹寺, is a historic Buddhist temple located on Yu'an Mountain 玉案山 northwest of Kunming, Yunnan, China. The temple's name, Qiongzhu, refers to a specific type of bamboo (Qiongzhuea genus). Originally established during the Yuan dynasty, Qiongzhu Temple was the first Zen Buddhist temple in Yunnan. Over the centuries, it has been destroyed by fire and rebuilt multiple times. The current structure primarily dates back to the late Qing dynasty.

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