Showing  1 - 25 of 56 Records

Showing  1 - 25 of 56 Records
Seated Maitreya
  • Title Translation: 弥勒坐像
  • Period: Northern Wei, Tang, 386–534 C.E., 618–907 C.E.
  • Project: Sculptures in Longmen Caves

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone reliefs
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone reliefs
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), digital reconstruction
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 数字重建
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun")
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Buddha with Two Attendants in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 如来三尊佛龛
  • Period: Tang, 704 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda

Buddha with Two Attendants in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 如来三尊佛龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda

Maitreya with Two Attendants in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 弥勒三尊佛龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda

Longmen Binyang Caves, exterior and entrances
  • Title Translation: 龙门宾阳石窟 , 外部和入口
  • Period: Northern Wei, Tang, 386–907 C.E.
  • Project: Longmen Binyang Central Cave
  • Work Description: The Longmen Caves are located outside the city of Luoyang, China, about 500 miles southeast of the modern-day capital in Beijing. Established in the late fifth century, the site consists of 2,345 caves, and over 100,000 individual Buddhist statues, ranging in height from a few inches to over 56 feet. For more than 250 years, Chinese Buddhists from all walks of life sponsored the addition of Buddhist statues and inscriptions to the site, most significantly from the late Northern Wei (386-534) through the Tang dynasty (618-907). Binyang Central Cave is one of the earliest at Longmen and a major monument of Chinese Buddhism. Begun around the year 501, it was commissioned by the youthful Emperor Xuanwu (483-515) and dedicated to his father, Emperor Xiaowen, who died in 499 at age thirty-three. The cave is one of the major monuments of Chinese Buddhism. MEasuring roughly 30 feet in each dimension, its principal image is 28-foot-high seated Buddha largly filling the back of the cave and accompanied by smaller standing figures—disciples, Buddhas, and bodhisattva—on either side. The exit wall contained some of the finest stone relief carvings of the era, including depictions of two imperial processions, and a number of stories from Buddhist scriptures. After cave-making was discontinued for nearly a thousand years, the Longmen site was "discovered" by foreign scholars in the late 1800s. The publication of their studies with photos attracted international attention to the artistic quality of the sculptures. The publications ultimately led to the looting of much of the site in the early part of the twentieth century. In response to demand from art dealers, collectors, and museums around the globe, local stonecutters removed countless works from the caves, often breaking them into numerous fragments in the process. Pieces from the greater Longmen complex can now be found scattered throughout the world. In Binyang Central Cave, several heads and large portions of the relief carvings were cut or burned out of the walls. Fragments from Binyang Central Cave now reside in museums in the US and Japan, as well as in storage at the Longmen Research Institute in China. Many shattered pieces are identifiable today with the evidence of historical photographs and rubbings taken of the reliefs before their removal.

Head of a Buddhist guardian (deva-king)
  • Title Translation: 佛教护法神首领(天王)
  • Period: Tang, 618–907 C.E.
  • Project: Sculptures in Longmen Caves
  • Work Description: Chinese, Later than T'ang. Head of one of the four Guardians in high relief; part of left ear and topknot missing. Color: dark gray with yellow white patina and light earth encrustations. Wooden stand.

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin)
  • Title Translation: 观世音菩萨(观音)
  • Period: Tang, 618–907 C.E.
  • Project: Sculptures in Longmen Caves
  • Work Description: The Bodhisattva stands with its body arched in a slight curve. The pointed headdress that appears in the high chignon is not specific enough to identify the particular Bodhisattva being represented. The torso is clothed in scarves and necklaces; a pleated dhoti falls from the waist. The Bodhisattva's right hand holds one end of a scarf against the dhoti; the left arm is raised at the elbow and the fingers of the hand are gracefully curved. There are traces of paint and pigment traces on the surface of the stone. The sculpture has been broken and subsequently repaired.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone reliefs
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone relief
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun")
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun")
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Buddha with Two Attendants in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 如来三尊佛龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda

Niche of a Buddha Triad
  • Title Translation: 佛三圣龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda
  • Work Description: This niche belongs to a set of thirty stone reliefs from Baoqing Temple, and is one of the most representative stone carvings from the Tang dynasty (618–907). Baoqing Temple was a temple located near the south gate of the Chang’an capital during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Today, the only structure that remains of the temple is a stone pagoda which held stone niches, including this one. These carvings, which were stored in the main hall of the temple, had originally been part of the Qibaotai pagoda in Guangzhai Temple, a temple in the Guangzhai district located immediately south of the Daming Palace in Chang’an during the Tang dynasty. This information is found on multiple niches from the series in the form of inscriptions, alongside carvings suggesting that they were created in the early eighth century (703–4, 724).The Guangzhai Temple was allegedly founded in 677 at the location where a Buddhist relic (cremated remains of the Buddha’s body) had been discovered. The Qibotai, on the other hand, was constructed by Empress Wu Zetian (r. 690–705), the only empress regnant in Chinese history, who also installed a series of stone Buddhist reliefs as decoration.This series of Buddhist reliefs features two styles of composition: ones depicting a buddha triad, and ones that depict a single buddha or deity. The former type can be classified further into three depending on the pose and/or hand gesture (mudra) of the central buddha: a buddha seated with legs folded performing the bhumisparsha mudra (Jp. gōma-in) that symbolizes the expulsion of evil, a buddha seated with legs folded performing the abhaya mudra (Jp. semui-in) that symbolizes fearlessness, and a seated buddha with feet touching the ground performing the abhaya mudra. Single-image niches typically feature the bodhisattva Ekadashamukha, the eleven-headed manifestation of Avalokiteshvara (Jp. Kannon). According to the inscriptions on the works, the triads featuring a central buddha with legs folded performing the abhaya mudra represent the buddha Amitabha, while the ones with a buddha seated with feet touching the ground performing the same mudra represented Maitreya Buddha. There are also variations in iconography among the buddhas performing the bhumisparsha mudra; some wear crowns, while others sit upon a shumi pedestal or a lotus pedestal. These may have roots in representations of the historic Buddha, Shakyamuni, that were popular in India at the time.This particular niche depicts a central buddha seated with both feet touching the ground, suggesting that it is an image of Maitreya, flanked by two attendants. At the top, a pair of heavenly beings are depicted in shallow relief to either side of a parasol that hangs above the central buddha. The rectangular space at the bottom bears inscriptions indicating that this particular work was dedicated by Yang Sixu, the duke of Guoguo (Guoguo-gong 虢国公).

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin) with 11 heads
  • Title Translation: 十一头观世音菩萨
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda
  • Work Description: High relief carving of Guanyin of Eleven Heads standing on a lotus pedestal set within a recessed niche, which is decorated with two flying celestial beings, or apsaras. In relief within a recess. Color, gray, with gray-brown patina. Limestone.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), introduction sign
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 介绍牌
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone relief
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Head of a Buddha
  • Title Translation: 佛头
  • Period: Northern Wei, Tang, 386–534 C.E., 618–907 C.E.
  • Project: Sculptures in Longmen Caves

Buddha with Two Attendants in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 如来三尊佛龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda

The Eleven-Headed Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in a Niche
  • Title Translation: 十一面观音龛
  • Period: Tang, 703 C.E.
  • Project: Guangzhai Temple Qibaotai Pagoda

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), stone relief
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 浮雕石
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.

Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum ("Zhaoling Liujun"), engraved sign
  • Title Translation: 昭陵六骏 , 刻牌
  • Period: Tang, 636 C.E.
  • Project: Six Horses of Tang Taizong
  • Work Description: The Six Horses reliefs were engraved in the 10th year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (636 AD). In order to commemorate the six war horses he rode in the founding war of the emperial China, King Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty ordered the painter Yan Liben to draw the figures of the six horses, and then the engraver Yan Lide copied and carved them on the stone. The great calligrapher Ouyang Xun of the time made the Tang The hymn book written by Taizong himself is on the upper corner of the original stone. After they were carved, they were placed in the altar at the northern foot of Zhaoling. In order, they are "Teqinqiao", "Qingzhui", "Shivachi", "Saluzi", "Quanmaojun" and "Baitiwu". Among them, two horses, "Sa Lu Zi" and "Fist Mao Jun", were dispersed overseas in 1914 and are now in the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Museum) in the United States. Each piece of Zhaoling Six Horses is 2.5 meters high and 3 meters wide. The six horses are vividly reproduced on the stone slab in the form of high relief. Three of them are standing and three are galloping. They have handsome postures, valiant charm, vivid shapes, and expressive eyebrows. It can be said that "the king of Qin conquered the world with his cavalry, and the six horses were outstanding in painting but also worried." Mr. Lu Xun praised Six Horses as an "unprecedented" masterpiece.