Page 33 - Nov. 27, 2019 Christie's Important Works of Art HK
P. 33

fig. 1  J. M. Hu at home, with the current jar on the left, circa 1960s
                                                எӬ  ⫽ዃᛌ཰།ᾅ卿ទ⧉ஙᾅ‷ႚᙹ卿⡙      ჺջ



               Buddhism, combined with some Daoist influence.  Although not part of   ⻱ワ㯪ឬ卿⊐᫉ᝤル⊂߅पᅴ≌≎⣱ᅠ⎏
               the Infinite Life Sutra (Sukhavativyuha Sutra, which was translated many   ▴㯳卿սࣿ༕ឃݓ໑ڟᄮ♦ጮǮἃ՞᫈⏜
                                                      rd
               times into Chinese, possibly the first being the 3  century Da Amituofo   ӻԿ᥉ᝳᎰ⎏म▼㊥ǯഺݓ߅๋ᇖഏ卿ݓ
               jing ഌ㩛ᆚ㩜⣌ ), in Chinese Mahayanist Buddhism the re-born soul was   ຽߺ㮷׿ഠ‪ᬓǮ㰆ㇼᔆल卿ᙹ⛾भ۔⢴
               believed to enter paradise as an infant.  This may have been partly due to
                                                                           ⎏ܥ།່㙣ǯ㊦὞卿ԋஇ⯠▘ᝯ⎏Ӭ፽◂
               the influence of the Shangqing ( ӳ᳖ Supreme Clarity) Daoist vision of
                                                                           ▭ক།ᄥܔᅴ卿ᥙ⊐།ԋ⊕ӭԖᑥǯ
               the self in embryonic state.  However, it appears to have been the Chinese
               Buddhist monk and philosopher, Zhidun ( ᘒ㙕 AD 314-366) who first   □᭯ຽથᚘ⛾भ༰㪡㫬㇝⯝ܥ།㈊ሗ卿⩧
               described the re-born soul entering the Western Paradise (Sukhavati, the   ⛐ຽ㘺Ӭ㞒㇝⎏ԋஇ⻱ワ݉⡵Քज᫔⢙ᙻ
               Pure Land ᲼க Jingtu of Amitabha) through the calyx of a lotus flower.    דᘰؼփ卿⋁ԋᝤᖄ㫓Ի㙣།⎏ᆴ㮮ǯǶὍ
                                                                           㞔೰⣌Ƿ  ᢹᙔἃ 4VLIBWBUJWZVIB  4VUSB卼⎏
               One of the earliest painted images of a child on Chinese ceramics appears
                                th
               on a Tang dynasty 8  century ewer from the Changsha kilns, which   ㋭അԋ㍖ទԠԋ卿ჺջᝬ᚝⎏Ꮅ㉓ᛓݩ݉
               is decorated with a young boy holding a lotus flower (illustrated by   Ӳӽ⡕⎏Ƕഌ㩛ᆚ㩜ד⣌Ƿ卿㫍὞⣌ᙔԋ
               William Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, New York, 1984, fig. 95). The   តᝳᓽࣿ卿ֿԋஇഌԧדᘰ㊘ἃ՞᫗Ԡᇌ
               combination of a boy child and lotus is one of the most popular images,   ⎐սວݓԠ㕑᫔ࢇ卿㘺ज⬒ᛓईߪԻ㙣།
               for it reflects the Buddhist belief in re-birth within a lotus, noted above,   ӳ᳖Ӭ᰾Ǹ⫷⫭഍஠݉▵ǹ㋏⎏ᆴ㮮ǯֿ
               while simultaneously providing an auspicious rebus.  One of the words   ␕⊂ᙻ⸥ⵖࢇ⊂⩧㙊ݣ㩛ᆚ㩜ד㇛ᙹ᲼க
               for lotus in Chinese is lian ⸥ , which is a homophone for lian 㙄 meaning   Ԡ㊯卿፽ංᙻԋஇ㵶ۿক১ໝ།ᘒ㙕卻ݩ
               successive.  A boy with the lotus thus suggests the successive birth of   ݉     ⯍     ჺ卼ǯ
               male children.  This rebus appears on the current jar, on which one of
               the little boys can be seen holding a lotus leaf over the head of one of his   ᝬ᚝ս໐ݓᆨ㎜ݣ⊺⎏㪃≢༰׾ԋ卿Ӭ⩢
               companions, who is riding a hobby-horse.  Interestingly, the way in which   ἃݨӽ⡕৿ջ㧩᮷⚨న೭卿ݯ଍㕇⥾Ӭన


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