Two eagles dated 1702 Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) Chinese After decades spent concealing his identity as a descendant of the Ming royal house, Bada Sharen, at the age of seventy-six, seems in this forceful depiction of eagles to be declaring his proud defiance of Manchu Qing rule. There is no immediate precedent for such imagery; instead, the painting harks back to the powerful representations of eagles and hawks created by the early Ming court artist Lin Liang (ca. 1416-1480). Lin's heroic birds are emblems of strength and courage suitable for presentation to military officials. Bada, a fervent Ming loyalist, has personalized this imagery, transforming the conventional symbolism into an expression of brave confrontation and unfaltering loyalty, his noble birds standing sentinel over a landscape now occupied by foreign conquerors Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story Listen Play or pause #7635. Two Eagles Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies We're sorry, the transcript for this