Bodhidharma Crossing the River on a Reed,

1544 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)

Bodhidharma Crossing the River on a Reed

1544 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)

Shi Zhongsheng 士仲昇 , painter
Wang Shicai 王施財 , carving agent?

Hanging scroll; ink rubbing on paper

image: 113 x 62 cm. (44 1/2 x 24 7/16 in.) 132 x 66.3 cm. (51 15/16 x 26 1/8 in.)

Gift of George Rowley

y1958-161

Asia, China

Right, middle: 徽王施財 Wang Shicai of Huizhou. Right, bottom 錦屏[画士仲昇] Brocade screen painting, Shi Zhongsheng. (the 4 characters in []’s is cut off on this rubbing; online auction records the characters on another version of this rubbing) Left (cursive script): 題折葦渡江 長江河[]浮升。。。[to be transcribed] Left (regular script): 大明嘉靖二十二年二月吉日少林禪寺住山[][]立石

Bodhidharma, an Indian sage (5th-6th century) who is said to have transmitted Chan Buddhism to China, is shown standing on a reed in swirling waves. According to legend, he is said to have miraculously crossed the Yangzi River on a broken-off reed (zhewei dujiang 折葦渡江) in order to travel to Shaolin Si monastery on Mount Song, Henan province. Wearing a robe with a cowl, he looks to towards his right with a halo behind his head. At middle right is inscribed the name of Wang Shicai 王施財 from Huizhou, who may be the person responsible for carving the image into stone. At bottom right, is a cutoff inscription that suggests that a certain Shi Zhongsheng 士仲昇 may have executed the original design as part of a brocade screen. At upper left is cursive-script inscription signed by a calligrapher that has yet to be identified. Beneath this is a regular-script inscription noting that the pictorial stone from which this rubbing was taken was erected 1544 at the Shaolin Si monastery. At far left are found traces of a short inscription that only incorporates a few characters, hiding what may have been areas of damage with ink.

Chinese

Ming

rubbings

temples, men, figures (representations)