Portrait of the Lü Dongbin Carrying a Date of Immortality,

1867 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)

Portrait of the Lü Dongbin Carrying a Date of Immortality

1867 (stone); late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)

Wang Jie 王詰 , carving agent, copyist
Jiang Shaoyan 蔣少岩 , carver

Hanging scroll; ink rubbing on paper

image: 125.7 x 54 cm. (49 1/2 x 21 1/4 in.) 145 x 58 cm. (57 1/16 x 22 13/16 in.)

Gift of George Rowley

y1958-266

Asia, China

Top, title: 呂祖僊師真像 Upper: Guanwen 官文 (1798-1871), zi: Xiufeng秀峰, Manchu bondservant, general, and official. 至心皈命禮 玉清內相，金闕選仙。 化身為三教之師，掌 法判五雷之令。黃粱 夢覺，忘世上之功名； 寶劍光騰，掃人間之 妖怪。四生六道，有感 必孚；三界十方，無求 不應。黃鶴樓中留聖 跡，玉清殿內鍊丹砂。 存芝象於山巖，顯仙 踪于古洞。闡法門之 香火，為儒教之禪航。 大聖大慈，大仁大孝。 開山啟教，玄應祖師。 天雷上相，靈寶真人。 燮玄贊運，純陽演正。 警化孚佑，帝君興行。 妙道天尊。 爵閣督楚使官文書 Notes: 1. For Guanwen’s biography, see Arthur Hummel, Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing Period (1943; repr., Taipei: Chengwen reprints, 1967), pp. 426-27. 2. This text is the 《呂祖寶誥》(Precious Admonitions of Patriarch Lu), which contains Patriarch Lu's stories, great deeds, legends, which come from the Complete works of Patriarch Lu 《呂祖全書》 Lower, right: Jiangshang yuren 江上漁人 (unidentified; late Qing) 丙寅[1866]冬求喫道人遊南衡返嶽麓壽 祖師真容於會仙亭予為誌其崖略招予作 廣陵之遊舟次岳乃 祖師朗吟飛渡處也危樓百尺邦人士力從兵燹之餘圖規復之瞻 眺𧜏[]滄桑興感良用憮然前賢往矣仙蹟衣稀道人仍敬勒原搨真容供於其上顏之曰留 仙念天地之悠悠誰曆劫而不朽其惟我 祖師精爽式憑千秋萬歲後猶戀戀於此倘有其 人呼之欲出邂遘於長煙皓月湖光八百間乎 大清同治六年[1867]春吉青楓江上漁人謹識 Rubbing seals: “[][]” sq. intaglio “Huang zhu zhi yin” 黃竹之印, sq. relief Notes: 1. Jiangshang yuren 江上漁人 may be someone named Huang Zhu 黃竹 (rubbing seal) but Huangzhu may also be a place name. Deciphering the other seal may help with the identification. “Jiangshang yuren” likely refers to the Fan Zhongyan 范仲淹 (989-1052) poem “Jiangshang yuzhe” 江上漁者: 江上往来人，但爱鲈鱼美。 君看一叶舟，出没风波里。 2. One character 矣, the 15th character down in column 3 from right, is different on the corresponding inscription on y1958-266, which is written 往. Lower, left: Wang Jie 王詰 (1813-1889), hao: Lanfeng 蘭峰, painter. 余自春間 敬設 仙師立像開雕之次如世所傳負葫蘆寶劍者微[]有俠氣欲求真容不可得適抱微疴夜夢 見一道人捧大棗飄然而來叩其姓名不答但身掛雙錢示余醒而不得其解 官相國聞之乃曰錢名孔方兩方即仙醒也其即回道人回之例乎大棗即古之仙棗亭也 遂首倡其義命余重建之爰集二三同志以共成其事並敬摹 真容於石以供後人瞻仰云 同治甲子[1864]新正月 古越上虞王詰謹摹並識 Notes: 1. Xianzao Ting 仙棗亭 (Pavilion of the immortal date) is also known as Lüxian Ting 呂仙亭 (Pavilion of the immortal Lü). It was built during the early Ming dynasty atop Snake Mountain (She shan 蛇山), Wuchang 武昌, Hunan province. In 1993 it was rebuilt near Huanghe Lou 黃鶴樓. There are stories of that there used to be date trees at this location that did bear fruit. A pavilion named “Hoping for dates” (pan zao 盼枣) was built. The next year the trees produced large dates that if eaten were believed to lead to immortality. The official sent guards and prepared a feast for himself, but the page-boy he had sent to pick the dates did not return. When they went to check on him, they discovered that he had eaten a date and already become immortal, and all the remaining fruit had fallen to the ground and became stone. See http://www.tanluxia.com/556/ Bottom, left: Jiang Shaoyan 蔣少岩 (late Qing dynasty) 星沙蔣少岩鐫 “Carved by Jiang Shaoyan of Xingsha [i.e., Changsha, Hunan province]”

The barefoot figure of the immortal Lü Dongbin 呂洞賓 (b. 796) stands holding a large date (jujube) in his left hand, a broad-rim hat is slung across his back, and a gourd and two coins hang from his rope belt. The large date refers to the Pavilion of the Immortal Date (Xianzao Ting 仙棗亭), which marked an area where unfruitful date trees suddenly produced miraculously large dates that resulted in immortality if eaten. The two round coins with square openings symbolizes immortal enlightenment. Beneath the seal-script title across the top is inscribed the “Precious Admonitions of Patriarch Lu” 呂祖寶誥 as transcribed by Guanwen 官文 (1798-1871), a Manchu bondservant, general, and official. At left is an 1864 inscription by Wang Jie describes some of the symbols in the portrait and records that he had the pictorial stone from which this rubbing was taken carved after having rebuilt the Pavilion. The name of the stone carver is also inscribed at bottom right and an inscription dated 1867 appears at lower right. The figure is carved in outline so that in the rubbing the face, hands, and feet, along with other infill areas including the large date and background all appear in black.

Chinese

Qing

rubbings

portraits, men, figures (representations)