A record auction price of 84 million yuan (about US$12.3 million) was achieved for a single Chinese painting in Beijing, the auction house said on Sunday.

The landscape painting by Zhu Da, also known as Bada Shanren (1626-1705), was sold to a private buyer at the Council Auction held on Friday by Beijing Council International Auction Co. Ltd.

The company declined to reveal the buyer's identity when contacted by Xinhua. Bidding for Zhu's masterpiece started at 11 million yuan.

The previous record was set in 2007 when The Red Cliff Handscroll by the Ming Dynasty painter Qiu Ying (1494-1552) was sold for 79.52 million yuan.

A famous freehand brushwork painter and calligrapher, Zhu Da was born into the royal family of the dynasty. He retired to the mountains when the dynasty fell in 1644.

His early paintings included albums of flowers and rocks, accompanied by poems and signed under a variety of obscure names. Later he used birds and fish to signal distress, painting lotuses with broken stems, and ink landscapes.

Zhu was listed among China's 10 most renowned ancient cultural figures by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 1985.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2009)