This painting from 1973 epitomises the pinnacle of Zhang Daqian’s splashed-ink and splashed-colour technique. It was painted on a special gold cardboard whose relative thinness and water absorbency differ from those of the more commonly used Japanese gold cardboards; its surface also gives off a unique gleaming effect. The artist took advantage of the cardboard’s distinctive qualities to create a brilliant visual effect that contrasts the jet-black splashed ink with the reflective support. But what further distinguishes this painting is its abstract language. Zhang’s liberal use of water enabled the ink to run across to every corner of the surface. As it continues to spread into different directions, it leaves mesmerizing traces of ink and water, all of which help channel the gaze back to their source—the intense ink blobs in the centre. Here, the ink piles up to form a palpable mass of mountains, overlooking the watery traces as they traverse the pictorial realm. This constant.mes tamorphosis between the solid and the void resonates profoundly with nature’s ever-changing landscape. Indeed, were it not for the leafless branch in the lower right, the sailing boats in the top, and the cluster of huts in the valley, this painting could well be a total abstract expression free of any traces of the brush.