This work was composed in 1986, the year of Tiger. It sets in a misty bamboo forest featuring two tigers crawling out from their dens eyeing on a pray. Their claws were tucked in, whiskers upright, muscles contracted, ready to spring to action. The scene is so intense that viewers could almost feel the breath of the tigers. The hunting habits of tigers was depicted in precision and was no doubt the fruit of the artist’s years of dedication. The dramatic expression of tigers could be traced back to his studies of paintings by old masters including Muqi. Lin once wrote in admiration regarding the expression of tigers and the use of ink in Muqi’s tiger paintings, so as to accentuate the expression of its spirits. In this painting, Lin followed the practice of Song Yuan paintings by reducing the pupil of tigers, which suggests the tigers’ concentration and their ferociousness. The setting was deliberately chosen in a chill and dampened forest, so as to intensify the tension as Hitchcock did in his movies. From the tiger gods in temples to depictions on Song Yuan paintings, Lin’s relentless dedication towards perfection lead to such vibrant and fearful depiction of tigers that astound the art scene.