Summary of the image porcelain of the Arhats and monks of Jingdezhen Kiln in the late Ming Dynasty. There are three explanations in the translation: one says that it can help people get rid of all troubles in life; that is, killing thieves, offering offerings, and being without b

2025/09/0820:19:40 buddhism 1620

late Ming Jingdezhen kiln Arhat, monk image porcelain summary

Yang Jifang

Arhat is the abbreviation of Arhat, the Sanskrit name (Arhat). It was first introduced to our country from India. There are three explanations in the translation: , one says that it can help people get rid of all troubles in life; the second says that it can accept the offerings of humans and heaven between heaven and earth; the third says that it can help people no longer suffer from the suffering of reincarnation. means killing thieves, offering sacrifices, and not being born. It is the highest level of cultivation and attainment of disciples of Buddha . Arhats are all pure in the six senses of body and mind, and their ignorance and afflictions have been eliminated. (killing thief) . Having been free from birth and death, and attaining Nirvana (no birth) . Can be respected and offered to all the gods and (supported) . Before the end of your life, you will still live in the world of Brahmacharya with few desires, be pure in precepts and virtues, and be educated and saved by the circumstances.

Chinese temples often offer sequences of sixteen arhats , eighteen arhats and five hundred arhats . "The Dharma Remembering" of the Tang Dynasty says that when the Buddha was approaching Nirvana, he instructed the sixteen great arhats: "Self-prolong his life, live in the world, travel and preach, and become a field of blessings for all living beings." Therefore, statues of arhats are often sculpted in the jungle of Buddhist temples, and many people offer them. During the Song Dynasty, the sixteen Arhats were added with the two Arhats of the Dragon and the Tiger, and also the Damotara and the Buddha monk were added. For example, Shanghai Museum is a collection of Song and Jin " Bodhidharma crossing the sea" story mirror (Figure 1) shows the scene of the first ancestor of Zen Buddhism, Bodhidharma, floating in the waves with a huge cloak on his head and stepping on a basin-like utensil in the waves. In Tibet, , Madame Maya, and , Maitreya, are added. The five hundred arhats that gradually emerged refer to the five hundred arhats whom the Buddha often taught during his lifetime, or the five hundred arhats who collected Buddhist scriptures after Buddha Nirvana .

▲Figure 1 The story mirror of "Bharma Crossing the Sea" in the Song and Jin Dynasties of the Song and Jin Dynasties

Compared with the previous generations, the image of Arhat in the Ming Dynasty has a more secular tendency than that of the previous generations. This change is mainly reflected in the diversity of characters' personalities. Many images of Arhats are far away from the scenes such as "god, strange, strange" in the Song and Jin dynasties, and appear instead against the background of mountains and forests and courtyards. Complete the transformation process of the god attribute to the mortal attribute in the Arhat "From God to Man" . The emotions conveyed by the image of the Arhat are more secular and human. The religious emotions expressed in the image of the Arhat are completely replaced by daily emotions, either reading, meditating, talking about scriptures, or traveling together in the bamboo forest, integrating into all aspects of the people's daily lives.

Ming Shenzong Zhu Yijun Mother Empress Li Dearly believe in Buddhism and is in Guangxing Buddhist temples inside and outside the capital. Influenced by this, a large number of excellent painters have created and drawn with the theme of "arhat" . During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the "Five Hundred Arhats" painted by Wu Bin , who worked in the palace painting academy, was endless with lines like a spring silkworm sprinkling silk. The Arhats were depicted in white, with a soft and simple image, and "blessed and smooth, with a peaceful and peaceful mind, and a great sense of freedom" . The same period Song Xu is also an Buddha painting master (Figure 2) . He is good at "nail head and rat tail" drawing method. His handwriting is sharp and his clothes are fluttering, showing the artistic characteristics of the image in the painting with hardness and softness.

According to "Ming Hualu", " (Song Xu) Traveling in many places, Zen lamps and lonely beds, and monks were proud of it in the world. Painting the walls of Baique Temple, it was called wonderful. At the age of eighty, he passed away without illness." "Shigutang Calligraphy and Painting Association" Volume 59 has such a record: " The Three Saints of the West in the Song Shimen West were also titled: "Amitabha Buddha. The momentum reached Guanyin. All sentient beings are kind to the father. Vows are profound and profound. Compassion and wisdom are united in mind. Some travel to the pond and swamp. Some play gardens. Follow the roots and tools. Good at seduction. The superior wisdom is enlightened. The middle and the lower sing. Another metaphor is to capture. All are to return to Qin. One is everything. All are lush. Everything is one. Each appears and comes to each other. Long River crisp cheese . The earth is gold. Only the heart is only the Buddha. The past and present. Tianchi found monks and ancestor Xuan is Song Xu.’”

▲Figure 2 Ming Wanli—Animal Revelation Song Xu's "Arhat Picture Album" The Metropolitan Museum of Art of the United States shows superb refining and generalization skills and ability to grasp the facial structure of the characters in the painting techniques of using lines to describe the image of Arhat. For example, three-quarters of the side image of Arhat, see "The Picture of Five Hundred Arhats" in the "Name Five Hundred Arhats" and two Arhats on the right side of the character. The contour line on the right cheek and the oral crack line are completed in one stroke, and the contour line on the right side of the jaw is followed by the contour line on the right side of the jaw. The pen is both concise and vivid. The famous painters in the late Ming Dynasty, Ding Yunpeng , solemn , etc. also have works of Arhats with the same theme.

Ming Yongle Emperor Silijian has a sutra factory library, and a general manager is appointed. It is also divided into Han Jing Factory, Fan Jing Factory, and Tao Jing Factory. Among them, Fan Jing Factory mainly engraved Buddhist scriptures. The public version of is called " " Sutra Factory" " . With this as the beginning, a large number of Buddhist scriptures with well-carved and exquisitely printed images of Arhats and monks in the Ming Dynasty were circulated between the court and the country. From the period of Zhengde to the Ming Dynasty, novels, operas and other works were published in large numbers, which stimulated the continuous progress of the printing industry and provided a broad space for the creation of book prints and illustrations, and appeared The map is mainly based on pictures. After " Longqing switch " , commodity trade in the Jiangnan region flourished, emerging towns continued to appear, market economy prospered, and many professional handicraftsmen and residents who rely on urban commodity trade to make a living.

continued to Wanli period, and the book engraving industry suddenly emerged in Huizhou , Hangzhou, Wuxing , Suzhou and other places. For a time, there were many book shops everywhere, almost all books were not without pictures, and all pictures were not perfect. The prosperity of the publishing industry and the increasingly competitive market further stimulated book merchants The creation requirements for printmaking are put forward with higher artistic standards. The wealthy businessman who is both Confucian and businessman, the scholars who seek to innovate and innovative, and citizens who pursue and imitate the lifestyle of the upper class, converges in many classes, making this period a golden age in the history of Chinese printmaking. The Japanese Zunjing Pavilion Library contains the "New Tune Wanqu Changchun" embroidered by Lin Gong, a Jinshi, a Tang Dynasty book. There is a red mark on the front leaf of the book: "Each piece is priced at one qian and two cents" . The Republic of China Sundianqi " Book dealer's Ou Ji " records the "Collected Ancient Seals" of Wanli Bingshen version (picture 3) There is a wooden note at the beginning of the volume: " is counted to six volumes, each pattern silver three cents. "

The high market of publishing industry profit attracted a large number of top painters at that time to participate. For example, Wu Bin , Chen Hongshou , Ding Yunpeng , Gu Bing, etc. They combined with excellent engraving skills to integrate works representing their own artistic taste into drawing-making, engraving and printing techniques, greatly improving the artistic level of printmaking creation during this period. For example, Ding Yunpeng famous people include "Yangzheng Illustration", "Bo Gu Catalogue", "Fang's Ink Book", "Cheng's Ink Garden" and other publications.

▲Figure 3 The book and film of "Jiu Yinzheng" was published in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The U.S. Congress Library's collection

was published in the Wanli Bingchen (1616) . The editor Zhang Mengzheng wrote in the "Previous examples" : "imitation of Longmian, Songxue and other schools. How can you say that you are working quickly? However, many of the printed versions are falsely called imitating the pen, which is to falsely absurd the ancients, and they are not afraid of being unfair. "H has a self-worthy component, but he dared to compare the Li Gonglin in the Song Dynasty and Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty. His self-satisfaction mentality suddenly emerged.

▲Figure 4 Books and Movies of the late Ming Dynasty engraved "Britain Rhymes and Notes Correction" 2015 Xiling Autumn Auction

"One-Page Copy" is one of the essential characteristics of printmaking.The emergence of prints is based on the demand for image dissemination and naturally has the characteristics of "plurality" that is convenient for dissemination. In addition, its communication media attributes play a role in dominating the popularity direction in the late Ming Dynasty. The market-oriented (popular, folk custom) fusion of books and paintings, and the new vision of interaction and symbiosis between images and texts has achieved the emotional manifestation of material culture and spiritual life of citizens in art in the late Ming Dynasty. With the participation of a large number of professional painters, the images of Buddha statues and Arhats that originally appeared in specific places - temple statues and murals and Buddhist scriptures were displayed in front of the general public through the concrete and continuous image of the printmaking. Promote image information from niche appreciation to public appreciation.

Tomorrow Tianqi and Chongzhen period, Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Factory was basically in a state of semi-stop production and business. A large number of kiln workers in the official factory turned to the production of private kilns. Many private kiln owners in Jingdezhen closely track the trends of the times, grasp the hot spots of the market, combine the highly developed printmaking industry in the late Ming Dynasty, and are product-oriented and printmaking as the blueprint for imitation. A large number of blue and white , five-color, and red and green porcelain based on prints and novel illustrations are fired. Among them, common themes include Eighteen Arhats, Three Kingdoms stories, immortals riding on rafts, bangs playing with golden toads, chess pictures, etc. The content of the painting is closely integrated with the shape of the utensils. At the same time, Jingdezhen kiln workers changed the previous Ming Dynasty porcelain paintings that emphasize the rhythm of brush and ink, less symmetry and less neatness, and added elements such as landscapes, courtyards, and characters, gradually forming a expression style that emphasizes both secular life and literary atmosphere.

At the same time, the technological innovation of blue and white cobalt treatment process appeared in Jingdezhen kiln was changed to the chemical fire calcination method. After the blue and white materials were calcined, the cobalt content increased and the iron content decreased. The blue and white patterns of the fired porcelain utensils were green and bright, with bright and bright colors. The kiln workers used the improved blue and white materials to draw vivid patterns, which changed the previous characteristics of dark color and watery halo. For example, the mountain house is not far away, the blue and white Arhat picture of Jingdezhen kiln in the late Ming Dynasty, square bottle (Figure 5) . The Arhat picture of the picture is mainly highlighted characters, set off by backgrounds such as mountains, rivers, peaks, forests, etc. The outlines of the clothes and the depiction of lines are clear and elegant, and the strokes are like flowing water when passing through the strokes. Arhats either read the scriptures or sit down. It is actually a representative work of "high-quality fine material" described in "The Book of Things".

▲Figure 5 The image of the arhat on the square bottle (a pair) of blue and white arhats in the Jingdezhen kiln in the late Ming Dynasty

▲Figure 6 The "Sixteen Arhats" in the Wanli Wu Bin of the Ming Dynasty Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Full picture

▲Figure 7 The image of the arhats and monks in the "Story of Immortals and Buddhas" in the Wanli River

▲Figure 7 The image of the arhats and monks in the Wanli River . The Mirror of the Silent Light

0000000s from the Wanli to Chongzhen period, Jingdezhen fired many porcelains with similar arhats and monks, compared with the same patterns in popular prints and Buddhist scriptures of the same period, although they are all portraits of the same theme. But their image blueprints have their own basis. From the conversion process of "Paper and Ink" → "Embroidery" → "Porcelain Blue and White" , you can feel the meticulousness and prudence of the former and the vitality of the latter. They not only reflect the spiritual characteristics of the characters, but also inject the emotions of the porcelain blue and white painters themselves.

▲Figure 8 The image of the Bodhisattva in the "Sutra of the Universal Door of Guanyin Bodhisattva" in the 18th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty

▲Figure 9 The image of the Bodhisattva in the bowl of the Wanli blue and white scriptures of Guanyin Bodhisattva in the bowl. The image of the Palace Museum was collected by the Palace Museum.

▲Figure 10 The inscription of the "Made in the 31st year of Wanli" in the Ming Dynasty. The story of the blue and white figures in the furnace. The image of the Arhat in the furnace.

▲Figure 11 The image of the Ming Dynasty, the image of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the image of the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the image of the Master Jingneng in the middle of the wine pot.

▲Figure 12 The collection of the Palace Museum, tomorrow will be opened. The image of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the image of the Master Jingneng in the middle of the wine pot.

▲Figure 12 The collection of the Palace Museum will be opened tomorrow. The image of the Arhat in the blue and white arhat in the furnace

▲Figure 13 The image of the Arhat in the Palace Museum of Tomorrow's Tianqi Blue and White arhat in the porcelain bell

▲Figure 14 The image of the image of the Monkey King in the Oxford Ashmolin Museum of Tomorrow's Tianqi in the inkstone screen

▲Figure 15 The image of the Bodhidharma in the Qing Dynasty "The Origin of the Buddhist Family"

▲Figure 16 The image of the Arhat in the Book of Tomorrow's Colorful Book of the Flowers of the Shanghai Museum of Ming and Qing Dynasty export porcelain exhibition

▲Figure 17 Image of Arhat in the "Lingyun Sutra" in the late Ming Dynasty

▲Figure 18 The image of blue and white monks in the eleventh year of Chongzhen The image of blue and white monks in the water bowl The collection of Henan Anyang Museum

▲Figure 19 The image of Arhat in the blue and white furnace of Jingdezhen Kiln in the Ming Dynasty

▲Figure 20 The picture of monks and confucians talking about the scriptures in the "Re-education of Four Beauties" published in Wanli of the Ming Dynasty

▲Figure 21 The story of the blue and white figures in the Ming Dynasty Chongzhen figures in the pen holder The picture of monks and confucians talking about the scriptures in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

▲Figure 22 Ming Chongzhen, blue and white sweeping elephant picture pen holder (left picture) Beijing Poly 2018 Spring Auction, Ming Wanli Zilantang engraved "Cheng's Moyuan" (right picture)

▲Figure 23 Ming Chongzhen, blue and white sweeping elephant picture porridge jar, Liangqing Bookstore,

Comparison of the above prints with the images of Arhats, monks, etc. above porcelain, most of the ceramic objects are pictures of the characters' stories of Tongjing. The layout is clear and comfortable, and the superb and skillful painting skills portray the characters vividly, especially the folds and folds of clothes are particularly skilled. The characters are depicted smoothly, the scene is vivid and delicate, and the painting is exquisite and skillful. A few strokes are used to depict the subtle expressions of the characters. The picture is profound, the blue and white hair color is pure and gorgeous, the water-dividing technique is delicate, the brushstrokes are delicate, and the objects are vivid. Simple but powerful lines can successfully convey different expressions. This shows the superb skills of Jingdezhen painters at that time, and also shows the improvement of public aesthetic level on the basis of the prosperity of the market economy. Laying a solid foundation for the characters and themes to become popular carriers in Qing Dynasty porcelain.

Through the above summary, taking the images of Arhats and monks as examples, we can briefly analyze and summarize the trace of image transmission and change in the late Ming Dynasty. That is, it was created and painted by painters such as Wu Bin , Ding Yunpeng , etc. with official background (officially recognized aesthetic style) , combined with the first-class bookseller (publisher) . It will be carefully drawn on the paper and ink that can only be spread and appreciated within a niche range. Bookshops integrate painters and publishing resources, use woodblocks and ink to print books as unified specifications and formats, and carry out batch printing, forming the "hot spot" effect in the market, achieving cultural influence and economic benefits. At the same time, these popular print contents were imitated and dominated by the Jingdezhen kiln owners. Based on the printed prints, the kiln workers copied the pattern on porcelain with porcelain with soil and blue and white colored materials. It realizes the transmission of "from the temple to the people, from the court to the wild, from the elegant to the vulgar" . Presenting the same theme on various carriers breaks the regional scope and hierarchical cultural influence.

characters: Professional painter → print episodes → porcelain painting

spread quantity: in one → in hundreds → in thousands

Another, not far away, the mountain house is hidden in the late Ming Jingdezhen kiln blue and white arhat picture square bottle (a pair) , square long body, small round mouth, and the four walls of the bottle body draw the Arhat image.This instrument type is transmitted from foreign cultures and is locally absorbed and improved, and then spread through trade. It is a typical example of cultural export and integration of Chinese and Western culture. This special type of bottle is a bottle that was popular in Dutch in the 17th century and is used to hold gin. Dutch businessmen, seafarers and immigrants who were active in the East India region were first promoted. Later, because of their mellow taste and pleasant aroma, people quickly used it as a formal alcoholic beverage. In 1689, after William III, who was exiled to the Netherlands, returned to Britain to inherit the throne, gin developed rapidly in Britain and became popular in Europe.

Affected by this, the 17th to 18th centuries, the Dutch customized such wine bottles and other export-type glazed pottery and porcelain in Iran and China. The Dutch Governor invading Taiwan mentioned in the report to the Amsterdam company: "The merchant has agreed to give a very high price, and has promised to bring a complete set of fine porcelain in the next monsoon. For this purpose, he handed over samples of large plates, large bowls, bottles, and cold drinkware. All these samples are made of wooden, most of them are made, and various Chinese patterns are painted. They think these can be copied and promised to deliver them in the next monsoon." After years of experience, these instruments refined by knowledgeable people from both China and the West have been ridden on the sea, and have been left to this day, and have become antiques!

▲Figure 24 The mountain house is not far away and the blue and white arhat picture square bottle in Jingdezhen kiln in the late Ming Dynasty (one pair)