( fl late 13th century to early 14th). Korean painter of Buddhist subjects of the Koryo period (918–1392). He is said to have painted in the style of the Li–Guo school, an approach to landscape painting developed by the Chinese painters LI CHENG and GUO XI. Two of No Yong’s paintings survive, one, dating to 1307, of the bodhisattva Kshitigarbha, the other of Amitabha Buddha (both gold outline on black lacquered wood, 224*130 mm; Seoul, N. Mus.). The former has Kshitigarbha, who guides the souls of the suffering to the underworld, as the main image, together with a smaller depiction of the bodhisattva Manjushri, shown standing in the upper right-hand corner, and a host of devas descending on Mt Kumgang (Diamond), one of the holy mountains of Korea. Kshitigarbha, who is clad in a billowing monk’s robe, is shown seated on a flat, stylized rock among a swirl of clouds. In his right hand he holds a crystal ball, his characteristic attribute, while his left hand rests on his left knee. One foot is touching a lotus positioned on the ground, the other is resting on the seat. On both sides of the bodhisattva are small images of kneeling devotees. The painting is important for bearing an inscription, set in a small cartouche in the lower left side, which gives the occasion for the painting and its date. The signature of the artist is on the opposite side of the painting. The painting of Amitabha Buddha seated above a group of eight bodhisattvas is identical in size and execution and is clearly the work of the same artist. Surviving outline paintings of this type are fairly rare from the Koryo period but occur in greater numbers in the Choson period (1392–1910). Outline paintings in gold were primarily used as frontispieces or simply as illustrations in illuminated sutras.

• No Yong
  • Korea, §IV, 2(i)(c): Buddhist painting: Koryo, 918–1392