Taiwan's senior painter Liao Te-cheng lived in the mountains of Tien Mu for twenty years, with a view of Guanyin Mountain from the window of his second floor studio. This is reflected in the numerous landscape paintings the artist completed here, taking his material from the surrounding vistas. When he began to work on"Mountain Path"in 1968, Liao had not yet moved to the Tien Mu residence, but he and his wife had already made plans to spend their later years in the mountains. They finally found this spot in the Taipei suburbs and entrusted their good friend and architect Lu Yun-lin with the design and construction of a two-storied Western-style building, which was completed in 1970.

Liao Te-cheng was not the most eloquent person and had a rather introverted character. He usually expressed his ideas in a roundabout, metaphorical manner, using his paintings as the medium for communication. "Mountain Path"- with its thick growth of trees and bushes on both sides - has a somewhat muted atmosphere, but the small forest trail in the middle leads to the fresh green of a pleasant grassland area in the distance, with a mountain on the horizon. The composition leaves one full of wonder and expectation, sentiments also associated with Song Dynasty poet Lu You's imagery. Through this painting, one seems to sense the high hopes and expectations the artist held for his soon-to-be home.

According to Liao's own memory, the woodland path was entirely a product of his imagination. Originally its space was occupied by weeds and undergrowth, but then his creative drive decided to blaze a trail into the forest, connecting the foreground with the brighter prospects of his anticipated future. Later, when he had indeed retired into the mountains, the actual scenery was all but identical to the one envisaged in this painting.

Liao in fact did the same picture twice. Both oil paintings bear the title"Mountain Path"and are of virtually identical composition but different size. The one displayed here is the first of these two. The painting's style is clearly influenced by French painters such as Paul Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard, a fact betrayed by the rational structure and composition as well as the meticulous treatment of colors and shades. It represents a hard-to-find jewel among the artist's early landscape paintings.

Reference: Huang Yu-ling, Completion of a Painting - Mountain Path, Taiwan School, no. 5, Taipei.