Currently not on view
Hanshan and Shide,
late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)
Tang Renzhai 唐仁齋, carver, active late 19th–early 20th century
Information
late 19th to first half of 20th century (rubbing)
Asia, China
Two friends Hanshan and Shide were semi-mythical Chan monks of the Tang dynasty (618-906), who became popular subjects in Buddhist painting throughout East Asia. Hanshan (“Cold Mountain”) was an eccentric poet and is often shown holding a brush and an empty scroll. He befriended Shide (“Foundling”), an orphan who worked as a humble servant at the temple and is frequently depicted with a broom. With their wild hair, unkempt clothes, and carefree manners, the friends embody independence and inner peace even under the rigors of monastic discipline.
The pictorial stone from which this rubbing was made was carved by Tang Renzhai, and it is housed in the Hanshan Temple in Suzhou. The composition closely follows an original painting by the eccentric artist Luo Ping that is currently in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Featured as a pair in both the painting and rubbing, the individuality of Hanshan and Shide are not clearly distinguished. One stands with his robe loosened, exposing his upper body, while the other looks up while at the same time points down with a hooked finger. In both works, overtop is the same inscription, probably composed by Luo Ping, and written in calligraphy that emulates the script style of the artist Zheng Xie (1693-1765), a friend of Luo’s in Yangzhou.
