After Plowing by Pan Tianshou [Photo/cguardian.com]

At the same Guardian auction, Pan's flower-and-bird painting, After Plowing, fetched 158.93 million yuan, the second highest price for his work at auction.

The painting depicts a leisurely scene in which a buffalo rests in water and under a bunch of flowers reaching out from a huge rock. It demonstrates Pan's experimental spirit which directs the age-old Chinese painting traditions into the modern age.

Pan Tianshou [Photo provided to China Daily]