Liu Hai and the Toad

Liu Haichan (Daoist name Haichanzi) lived in the 10th c. He gave up officialdom to study Daoism and became an immortal. The story of “Liu Hai and a Golden Toad” (Liu Hai xi jinchan), popular since the Song, was abbreviated to “Liu Haichan.” One story says he commanded the toad of immortality to spew gold coins and aided the poor. Another says his father was a greedy official reincarnated as a 3-legged toad thrown into a sea of filth. Achieving the Dao, Liu fished him out with a string of gold coins. In the lower right here is the name “Xiaoxian” of Wu Wei, but it is probably a later addition. The tree, cliff, and waterfall differ from Wu’s rough style, and the drapery is unlike his fine brush style (baimiao), suggesting a late Ming date (1st half of the 17th c.).