Currently not on view
Portrait of Patriarch Huineng at Faxing Si Temple,
1324 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)
Cixin 慈信, carving agent, active Yuan dynasty
Zongbao 宗寶, inscriber, active Yuan dynasty
Zongbao 宗寶, inscriber, active Yuan dynasty
Chinese
Yuan dynasty, 1271–1368
y1958-152
Information
Title
Portrait of Patriarch Huineng at Faxing Si Temple
Dates
1324 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)
Maker
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
image: 125.7 x 67.9 cm. (49 1/2 x 26 3/4 in.)
150 x 72.6 cm. (59 1/16 x 28 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of George Rowley
Object Number
y1958-152
Place Made
Asia, China
Inscription
(transcription follows text as recorded in Guangdong tongzhi《廣東通誌》juan 214, Jinshi lue 金石略 16th section. The characters in [ ]’s may differ from that text)
祖師在法性寺像
盧溪月冷[雲]類月，
明風幡非動訐露。
心晴人間天上覓，
不得還照曹溪清。
为諸山翁與[誰]囋?
嘆也只道得一半，
且如何是那一半?
光含萬象撤今古，
慧日高懸天外昇。
至元甲午[1294]，住山法
孫比丘宗寶拜賛。
泰定甲子[1324]七月二
十八日，住風幡嗣
祖比丘慈信拜立。
（《廣東通誌》卷二百十四“金石略”十六 as cited in Xu Hengpeng 徐恒彬, “Guangxiaosi yuandai liuzu shibei xiang” 光孝寺元代六祖石碑像, in Journal of Chinese Studies 中國文化研究所學報, vo1. 27 (1987), pp. 47-68 [p. 61] http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/journal/articles/v27p047.pdf )
https://baike.baidu.com/item/惠能/949488?fromtitle=六祖&fromid=9105643
Description
Half-length portrait of Huineng 惠能 (638-713), the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism. Wearing an undecorated monk’s robe with wide sleeves. Hanging from his left shoulder is an octagonal ring. The portrait shows Huineng in old age, which is indicated by the sunken cheeks, vertical neck lines, and outlines of his ribs. This image may follow a Song dynasty model and is accompanied by a 1294 poetic inscription by the monk Zongbao. The pictorial stone from which this rubbing was taken was carved and erected in 1324 at Faxing Si 法性寺 temple (present-day Guangxiao Si temple光孝寺, Guangzhou city, Guangdong province) where Huineng had studied to become a monk. The stone is now installed in a stele corridor in the temple’s museum.
Culture
Type
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