.
P.122
LATE IN THE VIITH CENTURY A.D., I CHING, ONE OF THE
SEVERAL CHINESE pilgrims to the holy places of
Buddhism in India, observed in use among the Indian
bhik.sus a utensil for drinking water which he
describes as follows: "The vessel should be made so
that the tip always connects with [i.e.is permanent-
ly fixed to, or is contimuous with] the mouth [of
the vessel]; the tip is pointed above a flange and
should be two fingers [i.e. finger-breadths] high;
in it a hole as small as a bronze chopstick is made.
"Fresh water should be kept in such a vessel. At the
side of the vessel is another round opening; it has
a pipe [i.e. funnel] rising two fingers high and is
as large as a small 'cash'. This opening is used for
pouring water in; two or three sheng may be put in.
A small vessel is not useful."
He has already described the material of which the
vessel is made as a hard earthenware **; and a
litter *** indicates the method of drinking from it
in these words "..to hold the tip in the mouth and
pour water, is improper, and (makes it) difficult to
distinguish the clean from the touched."****
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*See I-Tsing: A Record of the Buddhist Religion as
Practised in India and the Malay Archipelago,
Oxford, 1896, p.28 for Dr. Takakasu's translation of
the passage. The Chinese text as more closely
translated above seems comparatively clear, though
Dr. Takakasu recognizes the vessel as a ku.n.di. Cf.
Daizookyoo, (Chinese Buddhist Tripi.taka), Kyooto,
1905; XXIX, 10 p.95 recto. Genmyoo Ono. Bukkyoo
Bijutsu Gairon, s.v; sobyoo, rightly distinguishes
ku.n.dikaa, a vessel with two openings, from
kala'sa, a vessel with only one. ** Op. Cit. P.27,
Chapter VI, line 3. *** Op. Cit., p.28, line 19.
****Cf. Sutta Vibhanga, Paatimokkha (S.B.E., Vol.
XIII, p.65), " Not with a hand soiled with food will
I take hold of the waterjar." I Ching, however, has
in mind the rule that remains of food or of drink,
are "touched", -that is, unfit for consumption - and
is implying a method of drinking from a ku.n.di
which leaves both the contents and the tip of the
vessel literally untouched and therefore
uncontaminated. It is perhaps significant that
ku.n.da means not only a vessel, but also a well,
spring, or especially a sacred source, and that one
who drinks from a ku.n.da of earthenware on the
manner here described still actually drinks from a
flowing stream. Can we infer that it had once been a
rule of forest- dwelling sages to drink only from
running water?
P.123
Evidently we have here a vessel of the form
illustrated in Figs. 1 to 9. It is, as Dr. Takakasu
glossed it, a ku.n.di (ku.n.dikaa), an essential
utensil in the proper equipment of a Buddhist monk
when I Ching was in India. Its peculiarities are
that it has a funnel on the shoulder through which
it can be filled, and that the neck or handle ends
in a tip or nipple through which it may be emptied.
It was devised to hold drinking water which was to
be consumed with due regard to cleanliness in the
fashion exaggerated in Fig. 2.
If we may judge from I Ching's habit of referring to
customs in China which resemble or differ from those
he found prevalent among bhik.sus in India, this
form of combined water container and drinking vessel
was new to him; for he makes no reference to
anything similar in his native land. His description
of the vessel, written for Chinese readers,
indicates that he believed it equally
P.124
strange to them. We may guess, accordingly, that
this form of vessel was not known in China previous
to 671 A.D., the year when I Ching began his pious
pilgrimage to India; and we may certainly infer that
when he wrote the description (probably in the year
692 A.D.) he believed that he was imparing
information.
Testimony of the same negative character may be
derived from two other sources, -Chinese representa-
tions of the equipment of monks, and actual drinking
vessels of the kind known, or supposed, to be
Chinese, Japanese, or Korean in origin. No proper
ku.n.di appears in any Chinese carving or painting
the date of which is earlier than T'ang. Very
probably the kind of water bottle used by Chinese
monks of pre-T'ang times is shown in a scene carved
on a stele dated 551 A.D.* it is a flask-shaped
bottle, with-out funnel or tip, and near it is
hanging what may be the carrying bag prescribed for
it in the Vinaya rule as indicated by I ching. **
Its shape is precisely like the pao p'ing (to be
mentioned later) carried so often by Bodhisattvas,
occasionally by bhik.sus***, and in a few instances
by attendants who appear to be laymen****.
Similar negative testimony is yielded by the monk's
drinking vessels found or reported in China, Japan,
or Korea: none of them antedate the VIII the
century. The earliest one of which the date can be
fairly ascertained is in the Shoosooin. It is
figured on plate 262 of the six volume edition (in
English) of the Toyei Shukoo (1909), and on plate
168 of the three volume revised edition (also in
English) published in 1910), In both editions the
vessel is called "jug made of white copper". It does
not appear on the list of the original donation to
Todaiji made on the 21st day of the 6th month, 756
A.D., nor in avaliable lists of the gifts
subsequently deposited in the Shoosooin. The last of
these was made in 758 A.D. it will be remembered
that the shoosooin, the storehouse of Todaiji,
contained some objects belonging to the temple when
the first Inperial gift was dopposited there. The
"jug of white copper" may be one of earlier lot;
quite as likely it is one of the numerous unlisted
objects given latter, but
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*See Siren, O.: Chinese Sculpture from the fifth to
the fourteenth Century, 1925; Vol. II, Pl. 171. **
See I-Tsing: op. Cit., p.28f.*** See M.F.A.
Bulletin, Vol. XXIV, No. 141, and Siren, op. Cit.
Vol. II, Pl 198; Vol. III, Pls. 295, 298, 319, 323,
327. ****See M.F.A.Bulletin, Vol. XIII, No. 78, Fig.
5. Here the flaskbearers are in attendance upon the
four chief donors of the stele. See also Siren: op.
Cit., Vol. II, Pls. 144 and 172: Vol. III, Pl.
317(the stone coffer, M. F. A. 16. 287).
P.125
whenever it was housed in the Shoosooin, there is
little room to doubt that it has been there ever
since 758 A.D.
Two similar bottles* are among the treasures of
Hooryuuji. One of them is very like the Shoosooin
"jug", having a similar human mask at the base of
the funnel. The tip is horizontally striated like
the tips of Figs. 2,3 and 4. Neither the history nor
the dare of this specimen is known, but we may
reasonably group it with the Shoosooin "jug" and the
other Hooryuuji, bottle. The latter, which has a
hinged cover on the funnel, is "possibly referred to
in a n inventory of the Tempyo period" (722-748
A.D.) and may therefore be a little older than the
Shoosooin "jug". A third example, said to have once
belonged to Hooryuuji, is in the collection of Baron
Masuda***.in this specimen, the tip has been
shortened and the cover of the funnel is lost.
Examples of the monk's drinking vessel may be seen
in two painting widely separared in time. The
earlier **** is a portrait of the Chinese priest
known in Japan as Ji-on Daishi. On his right stands
a ku.n.di with hexagonal tip and covered funnel. As
the painting is supposed to date from the Heian time
(from very late VIII¡¼ through half of the IX¡¼
century), it is the earliest instance yet found
which shows our drinking vessel as part of the
proper equipment of a monk.
The other painting is one the treasure of
Tooshodajii.+ It depicts the life of another Chinese
priest, Kanjin, as the Japanese call him, who
reached Japan in 759 A.D. One of the scenes shows
him ready to embark with several disciples, one of
whom carries a ku.n.di. Since this painting dates
from the Kamakura period, it indicates that the
tradition of the ku.n.di as a necessary utensil in
the equipment of a T'sang Buddhist monk, was alive
in Japan at the end of the VIII¡¼ century.
Evidently the vessels depicted in these paintings
treasured in the Yakushiji and the Tooshodaiji
respectively, are to be regarded as Chinese. The
origin of the bronze ku.n.di remaining in Japan is
not so certain. Though they were perhaps made in
Japan, the
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* See Nara Hooryuji Okagami, part XXXIII, 7th plate,
and Part LV, 11th plate. ** See op. cit., Part LV,
text. *** See Catalogue of an exhibition of a
portion of the Masuda Collection, held in Tokyoo in
1926, no pl., n.d. * See Yakushiji Okagami, Part
III, 1st and 4th plates.+ See Toshodaiji Ookagami,
Part VI, 18th plate. In this reproduction, the
funnel of the ku.n.di is not unmistakably in
evidence but there is no doubt about the kind of
bottle the painter intended to draw.
P.126
model for them came along with Buddhism from the
Continent of Asia. What the model was like may be
gathered from the Chinese specimens which follow.
The pottery vessel outlined in Fig. I is probably
contemporary with the Shoosooin "jug", and is
certainly Chinese. It is of the fine, white,
low-fired clay covered with green lead glaze,
familiar in Chinese pottery of the T'ang Dynasty.
The absorbent property of the quite unvitrified clay
and the fact that the interior was not glazed,
indicate that this vessel was not made to be
practicable but rather for some symbolic use
connected with burial of the dead. It had abundant
traces of the earth of burial when it came into the
possession of the Museum of Fine Arts.*
Fig.3 represents a thoroughly practicable vessel
which is in the Freer Gallery at Washington. It is
slightly damaged, the mouth of the funnel on the
shoulder being broken ington. It is slightly
damaged, the mouth of the funnel on the shoulder
being broken off. It is made of a white clay,
high-fired, impervious to water, covered with a
thin, transparent, highly vitreous glaze of very
faint tea-color. Probably it is not much later in
date than the VIII ¡¼ century, and in details of its
design is significantly similar to Fig. 2: the
setting of the neck (which is also the handle of
these vessels) upon the body, is alike in both
vessels, there are faint transverse gouges on the
tip of the Freer specimen of the kind strongly
marked on the tip of the Boston vessel, the
extremities of the tips are alike, and the flaring
bases are of the same model.
Fig. 4 is in the Peters Collection, New York. It has
been ascribed to the Sung Dynasty and described as
of " white porcellanous ware with creamy glaze"**.
In other words, it is a usable vessel like Fig. 3,
of later date and clearly different in the modelling
of the foot, of the extremity of the tip, and of the
flange.
Fig.5 represents a Chinese drawing published as Ch.
00145, P1.XCVII, VOL.IV of Stein's Serindia. In Vol.
II, p.967 of that work, it is mistakenly described
as a "stoppered vase with ovoid body, and narrow
neck, spreading mouth and foot, and applique handle
or ear on shoulder". Obviously it is another of our
drinking vessels, unique among them in the
construction of the foot, the proportions of the
ncek and
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*M.F.A. 26.62. ** See Met. Mus. Of Art: Catalogue of
an Exhibition of Early Chinese Pottery and
Sculpture. By S.C. Bosch reitz; N.Y.. 1916, p.9,
No.33. The word "creamy" as used here, is a color
designation: in reality this glaze is thin,
transparent, weak-tea colored, showing warm white
over the white clay of the body.
P.127
of the flange, and in the curious rendering of the
funnel at the shoulder. In the original drawing, it
stands at the proper right of a Chinese Buddhist
monk,* thus reminding us that I Ching found it among
the few things essential for a bhik.su to possess.
Since that drawing was made earlier than 1035 A.D.,
** we may assume the X¡¼ or the very early XI¡¼
century as the date of of the flange, and in the
curious rendering of the funnel at the shoulder. In
the the vessel it of the flange, and in the curious
rendering of the funnel at the shoulder. In the
represents.
In the His Ch'ing Ku Chien ***, chuan XVIII, p.16
recto, is engraved a ku.n.di of proper form, with
lidded funnel, labelled T'ang su p'ing ð¯À²~ or
unornamented p' ing of the T'ang Dynasty. On pages
17,18 and 19 three other water jars are grouped as
T'ang su p'ing. Each has a funnel with hinged cover,
but neither flange nor tip. A similar tip-less jar
with lidded funnel is ascribed to the Han Dynasty
(sic) by the compilers of the Hsi Ch'ing Hsu
Chien**** and juxtaposed to two precisely similar
vessels which they label T'ang. These p'ing and the
one like them in the Ning Shou Chien Ku+, are
probably imperfect ku.n.di: the lidded funnel on the
shoulder of each is a useless adjunct to a jar with
a mouth practicable for receiving liquids as well as
pouring them out.
With these examples from China, we must be
satisfied; for with one exception ¡Ð¡Ð¡Ð it is of
pottery and like Fig.1 except in color of the glaze
¡Ð¡Ð¡Ð no more are available. On the other hand,
examples from Korea are comparatively abundant. They
are represented in Figs. 6,7 and 8. Figs. 6++ and
7+++ are of the usual high-fired gray clay covered
with the thin, translucent, green-toned glaze,
recognizable as typical of the pottery made under
the dominance of the Korai Kingdom. The extremity of
the tip in Fig. 6, is a diminished version of the
shape observable in Chinese vessels of the kind; but
the tip itself, like that of Fig. 8, is octagonal in
horizontal section. The tip of Fig.7 is not
significant ¡Ð¡Ð¡Ð it is a metal replacement of the
broken original ¡Ð¡Ð¡Ð but the funnel on the
shoulder offers an element not previously observed
on pottery ku.n.di, though familiar on those of
bronze treasured in Japan; it is closed with a
hinged cap. Such a cap is often found on Korean
vessels of this kind, especially on those made of
bronze. Fig.8++++ is typical of the latter. They
occur in a variety of sizes,
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*Cf. Yakushiji Ookagami, loc. Cit. **See Stein, op.
Cit., Vol.II,p827. *** ¦è²M¥jŲ **** ¦è²MÄòŲ Chuan
VIII, pp.30,35,36.+ ¹ç¹ØŲ¥j Chuan VII, p. 30,
recto. ++Museum of Fine Arts, 27. 328.+++ Freer
Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. ++++ Prince Li's
Museum, Seoul.
p.128
some of them so diminutive that they must have been
intended for symbols only. In date, these Korean
drinking vessels are all ascribed to the Korai
Period (936-1399 A.D.). They have all been found in
graves of that period, and since none of later date
have been turned up, we may infer that none were in
later use. This inference applies equally to China:
all the known specimens are reasonably ascribed to
the three and a half centuries beginning with the
VIII ¡¼. In Japan, the limit of date is even
narrower. In none of these countries does it appear
that this form of drinking vessel was a common
domestic utensil; on the contrary, it seems to have
been employed exclusively in the ritual of burial,
and by the religious who followed strict Buddhist
practice. Whether or not it was customarily used in
temple ceremonies is quite uncertain.
The names by which the vessel has been designated in
Japan and China do not tend to clarify the question
of its use in either country or in Korea. I Ching
calls its Indian prototype by the unspecific term
p'ing ²~, that is, vase, jug, jar, bottle; but he is
very particular in describing it and its proper use
by Buddhist monks (bhik.sus) in their strictly
prescribed daily lives. The vessel itself is
unfamiliar to the several Chinese to whom it has
been referred; they unite in calling it bu ³ý, which
is even less descriptive than p'ing and not at all
in conformity with the classification employed in
the Chinese books on bronzes. As we have seen, the
copmilers of the Toyei Shukoo call it a "jug". One
Korean specimen* is called simply ¤ô²~ shui p'ing
(Japanese, sui bin), or water jar, and sui bin is
the name given to the specimens treasured at
Hooryuuji** and in the Masuda Collection. We get no
further light by turning the pages of the Hsi Ch'ing
Ku Chien which illustrate the varieties of p'ing,
nor by referring to the confusing types classified
as p'ing in the His Ch'ing Hsu chien and the Ning
Shou Chien Ku. From all these references the
inference is clear that the nature of the p'ing or
ku.n.di which I Ching describes, and the use of it,
have long been unknown or forgotten in China and
Japan.
To this unfamiliarity confusion has been added. In
the His Ch'ing Ku Chien***, the monk's drinking
vessel is explained as a kan lu p'ing ¥ÌÅS²~, or
sweet dew vase,
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* See Chosen Koseki Zufu, Vol. VII, P.1. 859, Fig.
3145. ** See Nara Hooryuuji Ookagami, loc. Cit.
***Chuan XVIII, p.16 verso.
P.129
used for offerings to Buddha. Our Fig. 8, which is
No. 176 in the Catalogue of Prince Li's Museum at
Seoul, is there called hsien chan p'ing ¥P·ø²~
(Japanese, sen san bin), which may be interpreted as
jar for ambrosia* and in that sense as equivalent to
kan lu p'ing. It happens that No. 175 in that
Catalogue is also called hsin chan p'ing; in
reality, it is a proper kan lu p'ing and should be
so designated. Evidently these designations, hsien
chan and kan lu, have been applied to korean and
Chinese versio ns of the Buddhist monk;s combined
water-bottle and drinking vessel, owing to their
resemblance to what, for instance, Foucher had in
mind speaking of "la 'gourde d'immortalite' des
Chinois."** To clear up this confusion, we must go
back to the writings of another Chinese pilgrim.***
In his account of what he saw at Bodhgayaa, Hsuan
Tsang refers to the finial crowning the temple to
the east of the Bodhi-tree as a "gilt copper" (or
bronze) o-mo-lo-kia-kuo (or o-mo-lo-kia kuo) ªü¼¯¸¨
{ªG; the Japanese amarakak-wa (or amaraka kwa) more
nearly represents the T'ang pronunciation. Before
discussing this observation (of which rather
confusing interpretations have been given by Beal
and by Watters ), let us first remark that the
normal crowning elements of the tower ('sikhara) of
a northern Indian (naagara) shrine are (I) a ribbed
stone++ called aamalaka or aamalaka-'silaa,
"myrobalanstone" and (2) above this an ambrosia
vessel variously called am.rta-kala'sa, -gha.ta,
puur.na-kala'sa, etc.; innumerable examples exist of
the kind illustrated in Fig. 24. Now Hsuan Tsan's
text embodies two early glosses, one pao p'ing Ä_²~,
"precious vessel", "sweet dew vase", etc.+++ (an
object already familiar to the Chinese as an
attribute held
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*"Jar for ambrosia", "nectar vase", "immortal dish",
"immortal's cup", etc., are secondary meaning.
Primarily, sen san bin means mountain man's (that
is, hermit's or recluse's) cup or drinking vessel.
Now the "mountain man" is one who, through
enchantment or other faery process, has received the
gift of extraordinary longevity. He is an "immortal"
in the Taoist sense, whose sustaining drink is
"sweet" or "heavenly" dew (also, in China, a Taoist
conception originally). Buddhist "immortals" are
another kind o f being, inherently divine. As a name
for a Buddhist utensil, sen san bin seems inept. **
L'Art Greco-Bouddhique du Gandbara, 1905; p.96, note
(2). ***See Beal, S., Buddhist Records of the
Western World, London, n. dl, Vol. II, p.118, and
p.136, note 2.+ Beal, S., Buddhist Records of the
Western World (Si yu ki), II, p.137; Watters, On
Yuan Chwang,II, p.49. ++ Aamalaka, the fruit of the
myrobalan, Emblica officinalis, Gaertn. Burgess has
suggested Amala-'silaa, "pure stone", as an
emendation (loc. Cit. Infra. ) . In the
A'sokaavadaana, where A'soka makes a donation of a
half-aamalaka fruit, the word is transliterated
an-lo, an-lo-mo-lei, or an-mo-lei. +++ Giles
(Chinese Dictionary) perhaps had this gloss in mind
when he explained pao p'ing as " the Buddhist name
for aamalaka fruit".
P.130
by various divinities); the other, pao t'ai ÁÉ»O,
"precious pedestal", or "stand". These two glosses
reflect the fact that Hsuan Tsang's word or words
have been interpreted in two ways, (1) as a
transliteration of Sanskrit amara-karka, "immortals'
vessel"* and (2) as a transliteration of aamalaka
plus the Chinese kuo, "fruit". Hsuan Tsang's
description " gilt copper" would suggest that the
first interpretation is the correct one; for while
the am.rta-kala'sa may be of earthenware, metal, or
stone, the aama laka is always of brick or stone,
generally, as the full name aamalaka-'silaa implies,
the latter. But, as Professor pelliot has pointed
out to us, kuo is a purely Chinese word never used
in transliteration, and therefore the second
interpretation must be accepted, although it gives
no sense. In neither case does Hsuan Tsang's
observation have any bearing on the problem of our
drinking vessel; for neither the Indian
am.rta-kala'sa nor the Chinese pao p'ing are
drinking vessels,
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* The form amara-karka is possible (cf. amara-sarit,
the Ganges), but karka in the sense of water vessel
used by Brahmanical ascetics occurs in the
Mahabhaarata; karkata is found in the Pa~ncatantra.
Burgess (imperial gazetteer, II, p.181) gives karaka
as a synonym of kala'sa. The only Indian paralled
for "sweet dew vessel" is the var.sa-sthala,
"rain-vessel", by which name the finial of a stuupa
is designated in the Divyavadaana.The Chinese
regarded dew as the drink of the Immortals and thus
the phrase kk an lu, "sweet dew", was adopted by
Chinese Buddhists as the equivalent of the Sanskrit
am.rta. the characteristically Buddhist term
dhamma-karaka occurs frequently in Pali texts, where
it seems to have the general significance of a
"vessel authorised to be used by bhik.sus for
water". In Cullavagga V,13, Dhammapada Attbhaathaa
XVI, 9 = Burlingame III, 290, and Faataka, I, 395 it
is a vessel used for strained water, and perhaps
fitted with a strainer larger than an ordinary
parissavana. In Cullavagga, VI, 21 and XII, 2
dhamma-karaka are listed amongst osther parikkhaaras
(requisite properties of a bhik.su) without any
indication of the exact meaning (almsbowls and
water-strainers are separately mentioned) . In
Faataka VI, 331 we have a simile " as easily as
water flow from a dhamma-karaka"; here the meaning
ku.n.dikaa is possible. The dhamma-karaka of
Milindapa~nha, 68, is more mysterious, as the water
is said to be supported by the atmosphere; but this
becomes comprehensible if we suppose that Naagasena
took a ku.n.dikaa full of water, stopped the funel
with his thumb, and held it upside down, in which
case the water would not flow out of the nipple, and
would be in fact supported by the pressure of the
atmosphere, as in a siphon. Here, then, there is
good reason to think that dharmmakaraka =
ku.n.dikaa.
* In Mahaava^msa, XXII, 68, monks attending a
festival where they receive rice-milk in their
bowls, are expected to lay aside their
dhamma-karakas before entering the hall where the
meal is served. These "regulation vessels" are here
described as ekachattayutam, literally, "having
(only) one umbrella", i. e., one handle broadening
above, thus, a vessel with one opening, not a
ku.n.dikaa: but ekachattayutam may be otherwise
interpreted, not as qualifying dhamma-karaka, but as
meaning " and their one-handled umbrellas", in which
case we learn nothing about the shape of the
dhamma-karakas.
Karaka-.tanks of Cullavagga, V, 16, 2, literally,
"pot-ridge", is probably a "Persian" water-wheel,
i.e., with pots tied on to it, raising water as it
revolves. Karaka-vassa, said to mean "hail", looks
more like "cloud-burst".
P.131
nor does either resemble our drinking vessel in
form. They lack, indeed, one essential of the
latter, viz., the funnel on the shoulder through
which it can be filled; and this lack is perfectly
logical, for the puur.na-kala'sa and pao p'ing are
in themselves a never-failing fount of blessing, and
never need filling. Some further remarks on the
am.rta-kala'sa are postponed to the close of this
essay.
Confusion of the two vessels arose in the Far
Eastern countries, when, after many centuries of
oblivion, specimens of the drinking utensil were
recovered, classed with the familiar vessel they
most resembled, and called by its name. It is
possible that in this formal classification and
nomenclature there is an idea that our drinking
vessel had a ritual use as a pao p'ing for
dispensing lustral water (hardly "sweet dew" ) to
the faithful. But that remains to be proved.
It is clear that there is no more descriptive
Chinese or Japanese name for our drinking vessel
than p'ing or bin. Judging by the known specimens in
Japan or from China and Korea, this p'ing had some
vogue in those countries (probably altogeher among
the religious of Buddhism) within the period
stretching from the VIII¡¼ century into the XIV¡¼,
and within that period only. Apparently I Ching
brought news of it and its proper use from India to
China. In India, then, and not in China, or Japan,
or Korea, and c ertainly not through the medium of
Hsuan Tsang, must we seek for earlier use of the
vesse.
That the same type occurs already in India at a much
earlier date has not hitherto been generally
recognized. We shall therefore in the paragraphs
immediately following, cite the Indian examples,
whole or fragmentary, which have been found on
Buddhist sites. Although fragments of our type are
commonly found on Buddhist sites in India, only
three perfect examples are known. One of these, the
original of Fig. 10, was excavated at
Sahe.th-Mahe.th, from the foundations of structure
D, which are older than those of structures B and C,
which are assigned to the first or second century
A.D.; thus the present example may be called early-
or pre-ku.saana. It is described (by Marshall, in
A.S.I., A.R., 1910-11, p.6, with a good reproduction
on PL.III, 8) as follows: "The goblet is I'high and
is provided with a tall neck pierced with a minute
hole for the admission of air and with a spout at
the side", and it is added in a footnote that "
vessels of this
P.132
shape are found in abundance on the sites of
Buddhist monasteries", and "This may have been the
ordinary drinking bottle of the monks". The
so-called spout is, of course, the filling place,
and the neck with its narrow opening is effectively
the spout. Another perfect example, fig. 11, found
at Bhii.taa, is of Ku.saana date. It is described in
A.S.I., A.R., 1911 ¡Ð 12 p.83, no.52, as follows: "
Water-bottle, 8" high ¡Ð the life-breathing vessel
of the Chinese pilgrims(?). High top with projegting
rim, pierced wi th small hole. Short plain spout
turned upwards. * Round bottom. Fine buff clay with
red paint." It is also stated that there is a
similar jar, also complete, in the Lucknow Museum;
but no illustration of it is available. The oldest
Indian example is a fragment from the Bhi.r mound,
Taxila, of early Maurya and pre-maurya date. Only
the top, showing the handle (mouth) and funnel is
preserved the illustration (Fig.12) offers a quite
tentative restoration. The height of the part
preserved is five and a half inches; the fragment is
described as follows in A.S.I., A.R., 1911 ¡Ð 12
pp.41 ¡Ð 42:
" Top of earthen jar. Elongated neck pierced with a
minute hole; upturned spout
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* Here, too, the so-called spout is really the
funnel. The reference to the "life-breathing vessel
of the Chinese pilgrims" is meaningless. I Ching
mentions the use of a life-preserving vessel fang
sheng chi ©ñ¥Í¾¹, but this was a jar into which the
insects caught in the strainer were released, so
that their lives might be preserved
P.133
on one side, with small perforations below. Traces
of red wash." Numerous necks of similar earthen
ku.n.dikaas have been found at Saa~ncii (Hamid, M.,
et al., Cat. Mus. Arch. At Sanchi, 1922, pp.52¡Ð53).
The rim of flange at the top of the neck "is
invariably surmounted by a tapering nipple which in
some cased is plain and in others ornamented with
round markings"; there is usually a red color wash
and glaze; in some cases it is evident that the neck
was separately made. The term suraahi (by which name
vess els with a long neck, but no funnel at the
side, and used for carrying Ganges water, are
designated) is incorrect. The dates of the Saa~ncii
examples range from the third century B.C. to the
first century A.D.
A fragmentary example from the Raamatiirtham site is
illustrated in A.S.i., A.R., 1910¡Ð11, PL. XLIV, 56.
An example from Chaarsada (Gandhaara), dating from
the third or fourth century A.D. is illustrated in
Fig. 14; this is described in A.S.I., A.R.,1902¡Ð03,
p.182, as the "top of a lidless jug", and it is
remarked that the form appears to be based on a
metal prototype; on the Plate facing p.182, ih.,
(Fig. 24, No.32), this object is misnumbered 33.
Another specimen, found at Basaa.rh and probably of
Gupta date, is illustrated in Fig. 13 it is
described in A.S.I., A.R.,1903 ¡Ð 04, p.95, as "a
straight handle, + 3/4 long, glaxed in a red brown
tint".
Of Gupta or earlier date are the many fragments
recovered form the site of the Buddhist monastery at
'Sa^nkaram, published in A.S.I., A.R., 1907 ¡Ð 08,
p.177, PI. LVII, figs. 6 ¡Ð 12 and perhaps 24. They
are incorrectly described as umbrellas of votive
daagabas. The fragments range in size from 3" to 7
1/2" in height, and were collected to a total number
of 646, a quantity quite intelligible as
representing an accumulation of broken drinking
vessels during a monastic occupation of several
centuries.
Actually, few Indian vessels of this type have been
met with in bronze: the best example (early
mediaeval) is a "Buddhist monk's bottle of bronze"
now in the Saarnaath Museum,illustated in A.S.I.,
A.R., 1924¡Ð25, P1. XXXVI, b ( see accompanying
illustration). It may
P.134
be assumed that this vessel once possessed the
characteristic filling hole, as there is a large
break at one side in the position which it may have
occupied.
No evidence seems to exist for the actual use of our
ku.n.dikaa, as described above, after the mediaeval
period. If, as seems probable, it went out of use,
this can hardly be ascribed to the decline of
Buddhism, for it is not used by Buddhist monks in
Ceylon at the present day, nor so far as I know, in
any Buddhist country*. In Ceylon, the ordinary
monk's drinking vessel (kotalaya) is the same as
that in general use; it is of earthenware or metal,
with a wide mouth through which it is filled, and an
ordinar y spout at the side from which the water is
poured into the mouth, and thus altogether nlike our
ku.n.dikaa.** In Buddhist texts, the monastic
drinking vessel or water bottle is usually called a
ku.n.di (-kaa), but in one place (Faataka, II, 73),
the work kama.n.dalu is used as a synonym. In
Faataka II, 317, a thirsty king expects to find a
ku.n.dikaa in a Brahmanical hermit's (trida.n.dika)
hut; *** ib., V, 390, Brahmanical hermits fetch
drinking water in their ku.n.dikaas (which are
distinguished from cooking vesels, ukkali), and use
it to mix with their porridge: ib., I, 8 and 9, and
II, 73, ku.n.dikaa is also a hermit's water-pot. In
Dhammapada Atthakathaa, I, 92, a Buddhist monk
offers to another elder water from his own
ku.n.kikaa: ib., III, 448, a Brahman "sprinkled the
ground with water from his kama.n.dalu". In one
place, Culla-vagga, V, 9, bhik.sus are forbidden to
carry their water-pots on their begging rounds: here
the words used are tumba-ka.taaha, "gourd", and
gha.ti-ka.taaha, "pot". This injunction seems to be
overlooked in Mrcchaka.tika, Act. V, verse 20 (third
century A.D.), where a Buddhist monk app ears with
his "staff, water-pot (ku.n.di) and begging bowl".
In Brahmanical literature, Vedic, Epic, and Classic,
kama.n.dalu and ku.n.daka or ku.n.dikaa are regular
designations of water-vessels carried by asceticw or
students. In the words
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*With Brahmanical ascetics, likewise, the custom of
carrying a special water-pot is now obsolete: some
Puraa.nas and Sm.rtis even speak of it as forbidden
in the Kali age, see S.B.E., XIV. P.163, note 2. **
See illustration, Knox, R., Historical relation of
Ceylon, ed. Glasgow, 1911, plate facing p.140; as
Knox remarks "when they drink, they touch not the
Pot with their mouths, but hold it at a distance,
and pour it in". *** In the Uttararaamacarita, Act.
IV, verse 15(seventh century), King Janaka, on a vi
sit to a hemitage, sprinkles the fainting Kau'salyaa
with water from a kama.n.dalu. in the Buddhacarita,
VII, 51 a Brahmanical ascetic is described as
ku.n.dodahasta.h(v.e. ku.n.devahasta.h, etc) ;
Bohtlingk's conjectural rendering "the back of whose
hand was like a ku.n.da" is of course mistaken, the
sense being "having in his hand a ku.n.da of water".
P.135
of Baudhaayana, Dharma Suutra, 1, 3, 5 (S.B.E., XIV,
160), Now (those who know the law) prescribe the
carrying of a water-pot (kama.n.dalu)". So in Manu,
VI, 32, the Brahmanical ascetic must carry almsbowl,
staff and water-pot. This vessel was of
earthenware,* as is shown by the facts that it was
liable to be broken, and that it had to be purified
by heating on a fire. The contained water was used
not only for drinking, but also for personal
ablutions, but not for oblations to the manes, gods,
or fire. A straining cloth ( pavitra ) was another
requisite. It may thus be assumed, and is at least
probable, that our special form had been in use by
ascetics long before the establishment of the
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*Hence "gourd", while not always wrong, is not the
best general meaning for kama.n.dalu;
kaama.n.dalava^m is " the trade of a potter"; see
also above. The earlist representation of a hermit
with a kama.n.dalu is probably the Uda Jaataka scene
at Bharhut (Cunningham, Stupa of Bharhut, PL. XLVI,
scene 2); but as the form of the vessel is not quite
explicitly shown, we have not reproduced it.
P.136
Buddhist sa^ngha; it is in fact well known that
Buddhist monasticism was modelled on already
existing forms, and took over older customs, which
were in fact Indian, and not specifically Buddhist.
In saadhanaas descriptive of Brahmaa, the
water-vessel is designated either as a kama.n.dalu
(Matsya Puraa.na, Ch, 360, 40¡Ð44, and
Vi.s.nudharmottara) , or as ku.n.dikaa (Agni
Puraa.na, Ch, 49, 14¡Ð15). This brings us to the
question of the use of the kama.n.dalu or ku.n.dikaa
in iconography, as an attribute held by.r.sis and by
various divinities.
As we might naturally expect, the vessel is thus
carried only by divinities whose ascetic character
is much in evidence, and is generally associated
with the carrying of a rosary in the right hand, and
the wearing of matted locks. It is thus especially
characteristic for Brahmaa, * 'Siva, and
Avalokite'svara, and not for Indra or Vi.s.nu; all
the examples which we are able to illustrate are
taken from representations of one or other of the
first three divinities (Figs. 15-23). The vessel as
an attribute is held in two different ways, each
subject to some variation, (1) more or less as
actually carried for use (Figs. 15-17 and 21-23),
and (2) according to the formal methods generally
employed for the holding of attributes as such,
regardless oftheir character or actual use (Figs.
18-20). As regards the form of the ku.n.dikaa as
seen in iconographic usage, it may be remarked that
the vessel is rarely decorated; it is sometimes
with, and sometimes without a base; and that the
true spout, the extension above the flange of the
neck, is reduced to the dimensions of a short
nipple, although occasionally (Fig. 17) a ringed and
more elongated point is to be seen. This shortness
of the nipple is also characteristic of the Indian
examples of complete or fragmentary vessels already
alluded to, the long point being found only in the
case of metal examples or those which seem, like
Fig. 14, to reflect a metal prototype: while the
extension of the true spout above the level of the
flange of the neck is more pronounced in the Far
Eastern types.
Of considerable interest is the figure of a Guru or
.R.si, probably Agastya, found in
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* So also Braahmaanii may carry the rosary and
ku.n.dikaa, see Avalon, Serpent Power, 1919, II, p,
21:or as Sarasvatii, likewise, see Vi.s.nudharmottara,
III, 64.
P.137
Borneo*. Here the bearded Brahmanical ascetic
carries a rosary in his right hand, and a
kama.n.dalu or ku.n.dikaa in the left (see
accopmanying figure). The kama.n.dalu is h eld
indeed, as though it were an am.rta flask, but the
characteristic funnel is clearly indicated, and can
be seen immediately below and in contact with the
little finger. More curious is the flattening of the
form, a peculiarity which has not been observed in
any Indian or Javanese examples; and which, as Dr.
Bosch ha justly remarked, belongs to a whole series
of iconographic faults and misunderstandings
characteristic of the Borneo sculptures. This
peculiar form, flattened brought nearly to a point
below, and held as described, may be regarded as
affording a satisfactory explanation of certain
flattened, pointed objects provided with a handle
and suggesting a basket, purse, or padlock, held an
attribute by some Chinese Bodhisattvas; examples
from Lung Men, and one in the Gardner Museum,
Boston, are illustrated by Siren, Chinese sculptur
e, Pls. 90,91, 180, etc. The position of the fingers
in the Borneo relief could easily have suggested the
existence of a handle, while the flattened and
pointed vessel, peculiar as it is, is beyond all
doubt a kama.n.dalu or ku.n.dikaa. Mistakes and
misunderstandings of the details of Indian
iconography are by no means unfamiliar in Chinese
Buddhist art, and certainly the Chinese had no clear
idea of the distinctions between an am.rta flask and
a ku.n.dikaa when held as an attribute. Thus it
would appear that the basket-like object held by
the Chinese Bodhisattvas must be regarded as
representing a ku.n.dikaa, or ascetic's water-
bottle.**
There exists one late Vedic passage ('Satapatha
Braahma.na, XIV, 1, 2, S.B.E., XLIV, pp.453, 454),
describing the making of the Mahaaviira earthen pots
used in the Pravargya ceremony, of interest in
connection with our ku.n.dikaas. The Mahaavira pot
is theoretically a drinking vessel: in it is
prepared the hot draught of milk and ghii, and this
is offered from it to
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* Bosch, F.D.K. Oudbeden van Koetei, Oudheidkundig
Verslag, 1925, P1. 31 b. ** Cf. an early Cambodian
example of a ku.n.dikaa, held by 'Siva or
Loke'svara, published in Arts et archeologie khmers,
II, p.207 and fig. 55. For related Indian types see
Gangoly, O.C.,The cult of Agastya, O.J.Myth. Soc.
Bangalore, XVIL, 3, 1926 and in Ruupam, No.26, 1926.
* In A rock-cut cave in Travancore, Modern Review,
Oct. 1923, Mr.A.S. Ramanaatha Ayyar describes a
figure of Agastya who "holds a jug-like vessel with
an oval body, a longstoppered neck,and a short
spout. The shape of this vessel is peculiar, unlike
that of its modern counterpart, the gindi". Mr.
Poerbatjaraka, citing this passage (Agastya in dem
Archipel, 1926, p.105 ) adds the Javanese and old
Javanese equivalents, ke.n.di and ku.n.di.
P.138
the A'svins as a drink (the sacrificer drinks the
remains, but not from the vessel itself). The
Mahaaviira pot, it is true, has apparently no
lateral funnel or other side opening by which it can
be filled, so that the hole at the top must be used
both for filling and pouring out: but the neck,
etc., is described as exactly like that of our
ku.n.dikaas, and the text provides both the names of
the various parts and their proportions. The neck,
through which there runs a hole of the size of a
reed, is to be a span in length, contracted in the
middle, where it is held: at the top it is to be
drawn out to form a spout (mukha) of three thumbs'
breadth in height above the flange (mekhalaa,
"belt"), thereby providing it with a nose, So far as
the neck is concerned, then, the form of our
ku.n.dikaa as identical with that of the Mahaaviira
pot, and for this form a very considerable,
certainly pre-Buddhist, antiquity is thus
demonstrated.
It only remains for the sake of clarity to
distinguish from the ki.n.dikaa another Indian
vessel which is carried as an attribute by various
deities and, as already mentioned, is in
architectural use as a finial. This am.rta kala'sa
is a jar containing ambrosia, the water of life
which is the source of the immortality of the gods.
This am.rta is often used by Indra to restore the
dead to life (e.g., in the 'Syaama Faataka); it is
in fact Indra who most usually carries the vessel
(Fig. 21) *; but it appropri ate to any deity in his
capacity as an immortal. It is often carried by
Naagas, and is characteristic for the Bodhisattva
Maitreya (Figs. 26¡Ð28) who is thus distinguished
from Avalokite'svara who properly carries the
ku.n.dikaa); and even by 'Siva (Fig. 29). It is a
simply jar or goblet with a short neck and wide
mouth, often decorated, but always devoid of any
spout or funnel: it is almost invariably held in the
left hand in the manner shown in Figs.25¡Ð29,that is
to say, with the neck between the first a nd second
fingers and the thumb over the mouth.
The finial vase, so familiar a feature of Indian
architecture, is of the same character, but the form
and terminology are somewhat more varied: the simple
form is illustrated in Fig. 24, and the various
names include am.rta-kala'sa, -gha.ta, -kumbha,
puur.na-kala'sa, etc., and, once only, var.sa
sthaala. This jar, at first simple, later of the
puur.na-kala'sa or -gha.ta type with vegetative
(lotus) elements rising from the mouth and hanging
over the rim, is
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* When in Mahaava^msa, VII, 8. Indra carries a
ku.n.dikaa, it is in his temporary disguise as a
wandering ascetic (paribaajaka).
P.139
found not only as a finial, but forming the base or
capital of columns and pilasters; the same type is
also commonly met with as an auspicious symbol and
as an offering vessel carried by worshippers. The
greatest interest attaches to this form, which is
the analogue of the brimming vases of early
Mesopotamian art and, like these, "etait comme Le
Saint Graal",* and, on the other hand, gives rise to
all the later forms of the vase and plant motif,
including those of Persian 'vase-carpets': but a
detailed s tudy of this theme would lead us too far
from the immediate subject of our essay. It need
only be remarked that as a finial the vase (kala'sa,
kumbha) occurs (1) in the simple form of Fig. 24,
(2) with a very long projecting nipple, very often
with an added symbol-banner (dhvaja), supported by a
rod for which the hole in the neck forms the socket,
and (3) as a puur.na-kala'sa or 'brimming vessel',
with over-falling lotus foliage.
None of these forms have any connection with our
ku.n.dikaa, which is of the form already described
and illustrated, and is either (1) in actual use,
the water bottle and drinking vessel used by
ascetics, or (2) is carried as an attribute by
Indian deities of an ascetic type, forming with the
rosary and matted locks the insignia of an ascetic
vocation.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 1. Chinese pottery drinking vessel, Museum of
Fine Arts, 26.62, H..251 m.D..139m.
Fig. 2. Original drawing: the method (slightly
exaggerated) of using the drinking vessel.
Fig. 3. Chinese pottery drinking vessel, Freer
Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Fig. 4. Chinese pottery drinking vessel, Peters
Collection, New York, H. 8þ³ in., D. 4 in.
Fig. 5. Copy of Chinese drawing from Tun-huang,
Serindia, Vol. IV, PL. XCVII.
Fig. 6. Korean pottery drinking vessel, Museum of
Fine Arts, 27.328, H.. 354 m, D..170 m.
Fig. 7. Korean pottery drinking vessel,Freer Gallery.
Fig. 8. Korean bronze drinking vessel,after No.176,
Cat. Prince Li's Museum, Seoul.
Fig. 9. Detail of Chinese painting from Tun-huang,
Serindia, Vol. LV, PL. LXXVIII.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* Heuzey, L., Origines orientales de l'art.
P.140
Fig. 10. Ku.n.dikaa, complete example from Sahe.th-
Mahe.th. I'. Early or pre-Ku.saana. see
A.S.I., A.R., 1910-11, p.6 and PL. III, 8.
Fig. 11. Ku.n.dikaa, complete example from Bhii.taa.
8". Ku.saana.See A.S.I.,A.R.,1911-12, P.83
and PI. XXX, No.52.
Fig. 12. Ku.n.dikaa, fragment from the Bhi.Mound,
Taxila.5þ°". Maurya or earlier. Tentatively
restored. See A.S.I., A.R., 1912-13, p.42
and P1. XXXIX, g, i.
Fig. 13. Ku.n.dikaa, fragment from Basaa.nh: 4 þ´".
Gupta. See A.S.I., A.R., 1903-04, PL.
XXXVIII, 5.
Fig. 14. Ku.n.dikaa,fragment from Chaarsada: Graeco-
Buddhist, see Marshall and Vogel, Excava-
tions at Chaarsada, in A.S.I., A.R.,1902-03,
Plate facing p. 182, Fig. 24, No.32 (misn-
umbered 33).
Fig. 15¡Ð23. Ku.n.dikaas, held as an attribute by
various deities.
Fig. 15. Ku.n.dikaa, held as an attribute by a
seated Naaga (or Naagaarjuna) from
Naalandaa (there is a rosary in the right
hand): see A.S.I., A.R., 1919-20, P1. XX,
b, or Vogel, Indian Serpent-lore, P1. XIV.
Fig. 16. Ku.n.dikaa, held as an attribute, lower
right hand of a copper figure of
Amoghapaa'sa (Avalokite'svara), now in the
Musee guimet. Ninth century.
Fig. 17. Ku.n.dikaa held as an attribute by 'Siva,
mukha-li^ngam from Unakoti, tripura
State,mediaeval. See A.S.I., A.R., 1921-22,
P1.XXIX.
Fig. 18. Ki.n.dikaa held as an attribute by
Brahmaa, relief from Kumbakonam (Rao,
Elements of Hindu Iconography, II, P1. CXL
VII).
Fig. 19. Ku.n.dikaa, held as an attribute by Brahmaa,
relief from Tiruvaa.di ( Rao, loc. Cit.,
P1.CXLIX).
Fig. 20. Ku.n.dikaa,HELD AS AN ATTRIBUTE BY Brahmaa:
Cola, relief in the possession of Mr. C. T.
Loo.
Fig. 21. Ku.n.dikaa, held as an attribute by 'Siva:
panel of the Gupta temple at Deoga.rh.
Fig. 22. Ku.n.dikaa,held as an attribute by Brahmaa:
panel of the Gupta temple at Deoga.rh.
Fig. 23. Ku.n.dikaa, held as an attribute by
Avalokite'svara: Gupta relief at Baagh.
Fig. 24. Typical am.rta kaala'sa and aamalaka 'sila
forming the crowning elements of the
naagara 'sikhara, the spire of a northern
Indian temple. The actual example from the
Mahaadeva temple at Nohta, Damoh District.
P.141
Fig.25-29. The am.rta-kala'sa as carried by various
deities.
Fig. 25. By Indra. Saa~ncii, east gate, right pillar,
front. Ca. 100 B.C.
Fig. 26. By Maireya, Mathuraa: Ku.saana, A 68 in the
Marthuraa Museum, see Vogel, Catalogue..,
and in A.S.I., A.R., 1909-10, P1. XXIV, b.
Fig. 27. by Maitreya, Yuusufzai: Graeco-Buddhist,see
Burgess, Ancient Monuments, P1.118.
Fig. 28. by Maitreya, Takht-I-Bahi: Graeco-Buddhist,
see A.S.I., A.R., 1907-08, P1.XLVI, c.
Fig. 29. by 'Siva, Kosaam. Gupta (A.D. 45 8/9), see
A.S.I., A.R., 1913-14, P1. LXX, b.
¢w¢w¢w¢w
EDUARD ERKES:
A NEOLITHIC CHINESE IDOL ?
WHEN I CONTRIBUTED THE ARTICLE ON " IDOLS IN
PRE-BUDDHIST CHINA". TI ARTIBUS ASIAE, I was not yet
aware of a specimen which has come to light among
the Neolithic excavations made by J.G.Andersson at
Sha-kuo-t'un in Fengt'ien, ("The Cave-Deposit at Sha
Kuo t'un in Fengtien", Peking 1923, P1. VIII. Fig.
19), and which looks as if it had been an image of
religious significance.
The specimen which is reproduced in Andersson's
publication ** is the figure of an animal made of
marble, about 3,3 cm high. It is carved with evident
car; the head is distinctly set off; the eyes are
indicated by two little round grooves the depth of
which Andersson gives as about 2 mm, well carved and
clearly distinguishable. The fore-paws are only
indicated by the respective parts of the body being
a little thickened; but the hind-legs are well done,
and the anal opening is carefully represented by an
other little round hole. A larger hole transversely
perforating the body shows the object to have been
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
* Artibus Asiae 1928, pp. 5 ¡Ð 12. ** J.G.
Andersson, The Cave-Deposit at Sha Kuo T'un in
Fengtien (Peking, 1923), p1. VIII, fig. 19, a ¡Ð e
Description on pp. 18/19.
P.142
intended for being worn on a string. It was found
attached to a human bone, perhaps belonging to the
same man who had once worn it.
The figure seems to have been an amulet, like
similar decorations which occur among modern
primitives and are generally meant for such a
purpose. As far as we may judge, it represented a
deity which was thought to protect the owner. The
careful execution of the eyes, the ears and the anus
shows that the creature was imagined to see, to hear
and, probably, to eat and to digest, if not some
kind of "magic of the openings of the body" was
intended by the last-mentioned device. It must
therefore have been conce ived as a live being which
had to watch and to defend its possessor and was
perhaps fed, i.e. sacrificed to. That the paws are
not better executed, is probably due to technical
difficulties, for the artist has certainly tried to
bring them out.
Dr. Andersson thinks that the sculpture was intended
to represent "most likely a cat", but I do not think
this very probable. Certainly the wild cat belonged
to the deities venerated by the ancient Chinese, but
it is only very rarely mentioned. The only passage
in ancient literature referring to cat-worship seems
to be the note in the Li-ki, that at the great
cha-sacrifice the cats were sacrificed to, because
they devoured the mice which did damage to the
fields.* Probably out of the same reason the cats ar
e mentioned, together with the tigers, in the
Shi-king among the traits that made the land of Han
so lovely.** But there is no indication that the
wild cat stood in a closer relation to man, nor that
it was conceived as an animal which gave individual
protection or was ever represented in art. The
domestic cat did not yet exist in ancient China, it
appeared not before the han time, and probably only
later, and it is not even sure whether it developed
out of the native wild cat or was introduced from
India. ***
Therefore I think it far more probable that we have
an image of a tiger before us. For the connexions
between man and tiger were far more intimate; the
tiger played a rather conspicuous role in cultic
worship and was represented in art from the earliest
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*Li-ki 9, 2, 10 (Kiao-t'eh-sheng, Couvreur, Li-ki,
I, 5 9 5). ** Shi, III, 3, VII, 5. This explanation
is already given by the Sung commentator Fan Ch'u-I
who seems to allude to the Li-ki (quoted by Legge,
Ch. Cl. IV, 550). ***F. Hirth, Die Geschichte der
Hauskatze in China, Verhandlungen der Berliner
Gesellschaft fur Anthropologie 1890, pp. 140-151. ¡Ð
The li ¯W which is mentioned in writings of the
later antiquity was probably not the domestic cat
but the weasel.
P.143
times. It was not only revered for hunting the wild
boars which devastared the fields,* but also thought
to chase away demons, ** an idea which prevails
still to-day in China.*** That it goes back to
prehistoric times, may be gathered from the
following fact: The heads of little children are
shaved and only two little tufts left, so that the
babies are made to look like tigers and will thereby
be protected from the attacks of evil spirits who
are afraid of tigers. Now this custom is not
restricted to Chin a, but also found among
Indochinese tribes of further India who are related
to the Chinese.*** Therefore it must go back to a
period which preceded the separation of the
Indochinese group. The tiger was also figuratively
represented. In its character as the deity of the
west, it was carved in jade, and these tiger-images
received cultic worship.+ They were also put into
the graves of the dead, probably ++ with the
intention to protect the inhabitant of the grave,
which was also sometimes believed to be watched by a
living tiger.+++
It seems therefore quite possible that the little
marble figure bears testimony to the antiquity of
these conceptions, and that it served a Neloithic
chinese, probably in life as an amulet which he wore
at his girdle, and in death as the protective genius
of his tomb. I may add that the shape of the image
also somewhat recalls the Kuwen forms of the
character ªê hu, "tiger". +++ Especially the
characteristic bend of the back is represented, and
the incisions which are visible on the back as seen
in the side-vi ew and perhaps identical with the
"fine elongated grooves" mentioned by Andersson,
might well indicate the stripes which are never
omitted in the old characters.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*Li-ki, 9, 2, 10 (Kiao-t'eh-sheng, Couvreur, Li-ki,
I, 595). ** Feng-suh-t'ung 8, 6b, quoted by Laufer,
Jade, p.182. *** Grube, Religion und Kultus der
Chinesen, pp. 123, 17+ 176, 177. ***Conrady, China
(Pffugk-Harttung's Weltgeschichte, vol. III), p.495.
Chou-li 18, 41(Biot, Tcheou-li, I, 434); comp.
Laufer, jade, pp. 174-184. Chou-li 20, 43 (Biot, I,
490).+++ Yueh-tsueh-shu 2, 3a, translated by de
Groot, The Religious System of China, II, 396.++++
LO Chen-yuh, Yin-hu-wen-tze-lei-pien, 5, 8a.