A circle of mystery: art, time and primordial chaos

When the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) artist Zhu Derun created one of his signature works, Hundun Tu (Primordial Chaos), he left behind a puzzle that has been the subject of much debate. While he painted pines growing on sloping rocks, with gnarled trunks intertwined with vines, on the right side of the work he drew a circular disk.

Did he leave the work unfinished? Or, was the circle a deliberate means of symbolizing the primordial chaos of the universe, as the title suggests? Its ambiguity has long presented viewers with an artistic conundrum.

Su Yongjian is one of those intrigued by the circle that Zhu painted more than six centuries ago.