Chang Ta-chien always had a liking for monkeys, and with good reason: his mother gave him the name Yuan (a homophone for monkey) when he was born because she dreamt that a black monkey jumped onto her lap before giving birth to him. He is also said to have had a hairy body, which is quite unusual for a Chinese.
原來大千居士愛猿，其來有自：據說他的母親在生產前曾經夢到一隻黑猿躍入懷中，所以為大千取名「爰」，而且據說大千居士「遍體生毛」、頗有異相。