The traditional Chinese painting, which portrays three farmers cultivating their land with an ox, achieved the highest-ever bid after a fierce bidding war that started at a set price of 150 million yuan.
The previous top price for a work by Xu, who died in 1953 and is best known for his ink painting of horses, was 171 million yuan.
The record-setting painting, which measures 150 by 250 cm, was completed in 1951, his largest work after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949."
