Both the paintings of this Plate represent Kṣitigarbha,
Avalokiteśvara’s only possible rival in popularity among the
Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist Pantheon of the Far East. Though well
known in China as Ti-tsang and in Japan as Jizō, yet his early and
frequent appearance among the Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings was something
of a surprise, considering that neither in Indian nor in Central-Asian
Buddhism does his figure play a prominent part. Among the Bodhisattvas
represented in our banners he is always clearly distinguished by
the shaven head of the monk and the barred or mottled mantle, the
mendicant’s garment.[49] Other paintings help to illustrate the several
aspects of his character which account for his still prevailing
popularity in the Far East.
‘There he is still worshipped as one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas.
Through countless incarnations he has been working for the salvation
of living beings, and he is in especial honoured as the breaker of the
powers of hell. With his pilgrim’s staff he strikes upon the doors of
hell and opens them, and with the lustrous pearl which he carries he
illustrates its darkness. He is represented as Lord of the Six Worlds
of Desire, the world of the Devas or heavenly spirits, of men and
women, of Asuras or demons, of beings in hell, of Pretas or devils,
and of animals; and also as the supreme Regent of Hell with the Ten
Infernal Kings or Magistrates under him.’[50]
It is in this last-named character that we see Kṣitigarbha represented
in the large silk painting (Ch. 0021) which is reproduced on the right
of Plate XXV, on the scale of one-third. The Bodhisattva is seen seated
on a rock covered with a figured cloth. His right foot rests on a
lotus and the left is bent across. The left hand holds the mendicant’s
staff over his shoulder, while the right, resting on the knee,
supports a crystal ball. Over a green under-robe he wears a mantle
of grey, mottled with black, red, and green, and barred with yellow.
The traveller’s shawl, grey ornamented with a spot pattern in yellow,
is bound round his head and falls on his shoulders. Of the usual
Bodhisattvas’ adornment only a jewelled necklace and bracelets appear.
A multicoloured halo, edged with flames, forms the background to the
figure, while above it hangs a canopy represented by flowered sprays
and strings of jewels.
Down the two sides are ranged the ten Infernal Kings or Magistrates,
seated at draped tables, on which scrolls of judgement are spread.
Attendants wait on them in varying attitudes, taking instructions,
delivering reports, holding fans, &c. With the exception of a
fan-holder in demon shape, the attendants are all in secular Chinese
dress. All the Judges but one wear Chinese magisterial costume: long
under-robes, voluminous wide-sleeved coats of scarlet and white, and
official head-dress in a variety of shapes, black, yellow, or white.
The topmost Judge on the right is clad in full armour, with helmet and
a coat of mail, fringed with tiger-skin, and reaching down to the feet.
In front of Kṣitigarbha is seated a white lion, faced by a monk raising
his hands in adoration to the Bodhisattva. Further in the foreground we
see a condemned soul, naked except for a loin-cloth, and wearing the
_cangue_, led by an ox-headed mace-carrying demon. In a magic mirror he
is made to see the crime for which he has been condemned—the murder of
an ox. A cloud above the mirror marks the scene as a dream. Beside the
mirror stands an attendant holding brush and scroll.
The numerous cartouches scattered about have been left uninscribed,
or have become illegible. The same is the case with those by the
donors’ figures at the foot of the picture. Foremost on either side
kneels a monk holding a censer. Behind the one on the right stands a
boy attendant holding the fungus sceptre (_ju-ī_), and behind him again
kneels a man with the wide-brimmed black hat usual in tenth-century
costume. The same chronological indication is furnished by the dress
and coiffure of the ladies who are shown kneeling behind the monk on
the left.
The picture on the left of the Plate (Ch. lviii. 003, reproduced on
the scale of three-eighths) is complete with its border of purple silk
gauze and suspension loops, and shows Kṣitigarbha in his character of
Lord of the Six Worlds, or _Gatis_, and Patron of Travellers. He sits
facing the spectator on a scarlet lotus in a pose which is the exact
reverse of the one shown by Kṣitigarbha in the previously described
painting. Thus the right hand holds the mendicant’s staff and the
left the ball of crystal. The under-robe, shaded in red and green,
is covered by a mantle of red and black inwoven on white ground and
barred with black. Over his head and shoulders is thrown a grey shawl
ornamented with yellow spots and having a scarlet border on which large
flowers in green and white are figured.
On a flat-topped rock in front of the Bodhisattva, covered with an
altar-cloth, is a large green bowl, containing an open lotus. On either
side sits or kneels a Bodhisattva in adoring attitude.
From either side of Kṣitigarbha’s red and green halo rise three waving
rays of scarlet; each of them carry small figures meant to represent
the Six Worlds of Desire. They are on the right: above, a man for the
World of Men; a deity supporting discs of the Sun and Moon, for the
World of the Gods; a Preta amongst flames for the World of Hell. On the
left the Bodhisattva-like figure at the top represents the World of the
Asuras, or demigods; on the middle ray two representatives of the World
of Animals are recognizable in spite of the broken condition of the
silk, while below a devil with pitchfork and cauldron symbolizes the
World of Demons.
At the bottom of the picture we see represented a stone slab bearing
a dedicatory inscription and on either side of it two finely drawn
figures of men and ladies respectively. Their costume and hair-dress
furnish good examples of the type characteristic or donor figures of
the tenth century. The inscription on the slab is dated in A. D. 963,
and according to M. Petrucci records the dedication of the painting by
a certain votary who prays for deliverance from long illness. He makes
his offering also for the benefit of his departed parents and of two
other relatives named in the cartouches by their sides.