Donald Harper
Tuesday March 16th at 6:00 pm
Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, The University of Chicago
A Lost Tang Icon:
Rediscovering the Protector-Spirit Baize (White Marsh) in Medieval Chinese Manuscripts and Paintings from Dunhuang
Between the fourth and tenth centuries in China, the protector-spirit Baize, or White Marsh, was a fixture in popular religion and occult arts; and the eponymous demonography Baize tu (Diagrams of White Marsh) was a well known guide to the spirits, demons, and marvels encountered in everyday life. Lost for nearly one thousand years, a fragmentary manuscript of the Diagrams of White Marsh was among the thousands of medieval manuscripts discovered in the Library Cave at the Buddhist Caves at Dunhuang, Gansu Province, in 1900. However, until now researchers have failed to recognize that a famous painting also from the Library Cave – it depicts a fantastic creature dictating to a scribe – is, in fact, a representation of White Marsh dictating the Diagrams of White Marsh. The painting is the oldest example of the other Baize tu: the “diagram” or “portrait” of White Marsh displayed in homes as protection from harm. Correct identification of the painting and study of its magical function restores to view unknown areas of medieval religious culture.
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