Stellar God of Longevity and Old Age. olvwork280544; Chinese Rubbings Collection; Fine Arts Library; Harvard University

Title

Stellar God of Longevity and Old Age

Nan ji xian weng

Shou xing tu

VIA ID

olvwork280544

Digital Object

Stellar God of Longevity and Old Age. Nan ji xian weng

Location

Harvard Fine Arts Library, Special Collections; F-100

Creation Date

19th. century?

Description

94 x 54 cm

Form/Genre

still image

rubbings

Style

Qing

Culture

Chinese

Materials Type

ink

Materials Type

paper

Materials Type

intaglio

Subject

Xi'an bei lin, Xi'an Shi, Shaanxi Sheng, China ; Longmen Caves, Luoyang, Henan, China ; inscriptions ; stele (archaeology) ; Daoist gods ; stars ; sticks ; writing ; male figures ; beards ; painting

Note

Rubbing from stele depicting Shou xing, stellar God of Longevity and Old Age. "Dao tong tian di," -- the Way prevails through heaven and earth-- 4 characters are written into the figure outline. Painting by Dong Cesan, inscription calligraphy by Yuan Shen, postscript by Xi Wugui, engraved by Liu Gaogui.

Historical: Stele date: 9th. mo. of Dingsi, Qing Dynasty.

General note: Script style: in cao shu, postscript in kai shu. / Shou xing: the stellar deity of longevity with popular name Shou Lao and also called Nan ji xian weng or Nan ji lao ren ("the Old Man of the South Pole.") He is one of San xing, The Three Gods: Fu xing (God of Luck), Lu xing (God of Wealth), and Shou xing (God of Long Life). Shou xing is usually portrayed with an enormous head, carrying a long staff and a pumpkin gourd in one hand and holds the peach of immortality in the other.

Citation/References: Beijing tu shu guan cang hua xiang ta ben hui bian, 1993, v. 9, p. 165. (Shou xing tu bing zang). / Chavannes Edouard. Mission archeologique dans la Chine septentrionale, 1909, V. 10, Pl. no. 1176. (Image de Cheou sing formant rebus)

A Harvard University Library Virtual Collection,
Copyright 2009 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College

This record is part of the Chinese Rubbings Collection, which contains more than 2000 digital images of Chinese rubbings that capture Buddhist and Daoist scriptural texts dating from the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE) that were carved on stone slabs, cave walls, bronze vessels, jade, ceramics, roof tiles, and other materials. The rubbings themselves date from the Ming Dynasty to about 1940 and are highly accurate, often unique sources for scholars of Chinese history, epigraphy, and related disciplines.