Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 41 minutes ago
A short time-lapse of painting dragons and finishing with their eyes.
画竜点睛 translates to "The finishing touch"
画竜点睛画竜点睛 translates to "Draw the Dragon's eye"
Zhang Sengyou was a famous artist who lived in 5th century China. So well-known for his realistic and vibrant life-like paintings he was invited to paint a mural of four white dragons on the wall of Anrakuji Temple. The work took him a very long time, but eventually the lifel-ike dragons appeared one by one upon the walls.
Visitors came from all over to see all four of the dragons completed. But visitors started to notice that the eyes of the dragons had no pupils!. Officials of the temple went to Zhang and asked him to complete the four dragons. Shaking his head he replied, “If I add the pupils, the dragons will fly off into the sky.”
In disbelief the officials asked an apprentice painter to come to the temple, and finish the dragons. The apprentice painted one set of pupils, then as he finished a second one, dark clouds gathered. Thunder clapped. Lightning struck. True to the artist’s word, the mighty beasts came to life and flew to the heavens, leaving the two unfinished dragons quiet upon the wall.
A short time-lapse of painting dragons and finishing with their eyes.
画竜点睛 translates to "The finishing touch"
画竜点睛画竜点睛 translates to "Draw the Dragon's eye"
Zhang Sengyou was a famous artist who lived in 5th century China. So well-known for his realistic and vibrant life-like paintings he was invited to paint a mural of four white dragons on the wall of Anrakuji Temple. The work took him a very long time, but eventually the lifel-ike dragons appeared one by one upon the walls.
Visitors came from all over to see all four of the dragons completed. But visitors started to notice that the eyes of the dragons had no pupils!. Officials of the temple went to Zhang and asked him to complete the four dragons. Shaking his head he replied, “If I add the pupils, the dragons will fly off into the sky.”
In disbelief the officials asked an apprentice painter to come to the temple, and finish the dragons. The apprentice painted one set of pupils, then as he finished a second one, dark clouds gathered. Thunder clapped. Lightning struck. True to the artist’s word, the mighty beasts came to life and flew to the heavens, leaving the two unfinished dragons quiet upon the wall.
