Buddhist Stele Dedicated to the Lady Gu Mu,

1933

Buddhist Stele Dedicated to the Lady Gu Mu

1933

Yang Zhaojun 楊昭隽 , calligrapher

Hanging scroll; ink on paper rubbing

image: 124 x 63 cm. (48 13/16 x 24 13/16 in.) 142 x 68 cm. (55 7/8 x 26 3/4 in.)

Gift of George Rowley

y1957-169

Asia, China

Main: 惟共和建國二十有二年歲次癸酉四月十三 日浭陽 張母劉太夫人諱斐然字兑文捐塵高寑改火。 俄朞佃人王永志等百五十一人𠘵被慈蔭撫 循教養感鉅德之難追尋平生於響像。相与共 竭微悃爰割家財采石名山徵工巧術敬鎸佛 像一堪並 左右二侍。仰为國祚隆昌、兵灾休息、 九邊佔憫、五穀豐登、延及眾生、有形之類、普辭 苦海、永樂昇平。庶此果緣、福鍾後葉、願使長君、 志潭次君、志澂德崇、業廣受祿。宜年子子，孫孫 慶流、百世皆得，學成宦達，幹國棟家。又願 亡者在天，超登極樂，值佛聞法，恆與善居，所願 如是。 湘潭楊昭㑺字潛盫書文 北平文楷齋刻 Draft translation: On the 13th day, 4th month, 22nd year, when Jupiter was positioned in the guiyou station, of the founding of the Republic, Zhang Mu of Gengyang, mother of the official (or noble) Liu, and whose posthumous name is Feiran and zi-name Duiwen, left behind the dust of this world and has gone on to rest on high. The land renter (or official in charge of renting land) Wang Yongzhi from Eji and 150 others received the benevolent protection, reassurance, and nurturing that the deceased had sought hard to provide all her life. Together with sincere effort, they then parted with their family wealth to choose a stone from a famed mountain, hired a skilled [stone] craftsman, and respectfully carved [this] niche with a buddha image flanked by two attendants. Done respectfully so that the nation’s fortune prospers, the calamity of war is curtailed, the frontier borders are occupied with compassion, the food crops are abundant, the increase of all living creatures, the increase of all things that have form, the universal end to the sea of suffering, and there is eternal happiness and peace. [With hope that] the fate of the people will attain these results, fortune will accumulate in later generations, and desiring long life for the ruler, profound ambition in the next ruler, [along with] deep purity and lofty virtue, and prosperity for the vast enterprise [of governing the nation]. [Wishing for] abundant years with plenty of sons, celebrating the proliferation of grandsons, a hundred generations that all gain success, achieve in their studies and attain official positions, [in order to] govern the state and support one’s family. Also wishing that the deceased in heaven has reached surpassing happiness, has encountered Buddha and has heard the doctrine, and long will dwell in virtue. Wishing that it will be so. Calligraphy by Yang Zhaojun, zi Qian’an, of Xiangtan. Carved by the Wenkaizhai studio of Beiping [present-day Beijing]. Reading notes: 1. 浭陽 Gengyang county, Hebei province. 2. Eji 俄朞 (or Eqi 俄期) may be a place name. It can also refer to the Oedipal phase in childhood development, which may indicate that Wang Yongzhi with 150 others were orphans or students cared for by Gu Mu? Did the term come to have this meaning by 1933? 3. Yang Zhaojun 楊昭㑺 biography: - Online Artfox auction, 杨昭儁&谭祖任 庚辰（1960）[sic, should be 1900] 年作 松菊犹存 行书录元遗山句 成扇 设色纸本lot 260. 上海道明2018年春季拍卖会 (accessed 9/30/2020) https://www.artfoxlive.com/product/1620824.html 杨昭儁，字潜庵，湘潭人。平生嗜金石文字，精鉴赏，富收藏，与陈师曾、齐白石友善。工书，善篆隶正体，参合六朝造像，自我作古，另辟蹊径。 - Check for his biography in Li Li 李砺,《湖湘篆刻》vol. 139 of 湖湘文库 乙编 (Changsha: Hunan meishu chubanshe, 2009) ISBN: 7535631320, 9787535631329 4. Wenzhaikai 文楷齋 studio was established in Beijing in 1919 by Liu Chun 劉春. Inscription (left border): [need better photo] Yang Zhaojun 楊昭㑺 or 杨昭儁 (1881-after 1943) 此圖？余所作因古造像中？？以製圖署名者遂但題？与文耳 ？？仁兄雅好金石收藏甚富見此顧欣賞不置即？以？ 教 潛盫楊昭㑺記於舊都寓舍之淨眾宧中 Artist’s seal: *** sq. intaglio

Chinese

Six Dynasties

rubbings, hanging scrolls

ink, paper

rubbing

figures (representations), lozenges, attendants, religious art, canopies (structural elements), Buddhism