Seated in a wide stance with his hands placed on
top of his knees, this figure assumes a posture
fitting for an emperor, deity, or noble ancestor.
He clenches his right hand, which once held an
emblematic object and faces forward in a firm,
dignified manner. Despite this formalistic
position, the figure conveys a sense of humor
and generosity in his warm facial expression and
bulging belly. Sporting a long, forked moustache
and beard characteristic of Guandi, the God of
War, he adorns a tall cap flattened at an angle
with a decorative band, front piece, and double-
pronged back piece. The outer coat, once white
with red trimming, hangs heavily on the body
with sharp, linear folds and a slit in the middle.
A long red skirt sweeps over the arches of cloud-
tipped footwear. Taoism as a religion developed
at the same time as Buddhism was becoming
accepted, and the two faiths enjoyed a complex
relationship. The practice of ancestor worship
precedes the establishment of these traditions,
but became more articulated with Confucianism
around the same time. It is impossible to speak
of the three traditions as separate entities, as
each appropriated the other's concepts and
modes of representation, as evidenced in this
wooden carving. Possibly the Taoist deity of war,
this figure exudes with the grandeur and
radiance that becomes a being of divine origin.
- (PF.5154)
|
