Buddhist stele depicting debate between Weimo and Wenshu

Object Details

• Label

  This intriguing stela, or tablet, depicts a famous debate between Weimo (Sanskrit, Vimalakirti), the supremely wise Buddhist layman, and Wenshu (Sanskrit, Manjusri), the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. This was a popular Buddhist subject in China in the late fifth and sixth centuries, yet in Chinese sculpture there is no analogous representation of the two figures as seen here. This is the only known sculpture of this scale that features the debate as the sole focus of the work; usually it appeared as a detail with other figures present.

  In the stela, the figures sit behind low armrests. Weimo, on the right, is dressed as an elderly Chinese gentleman, appropriate for his role as a wise lay Buddhist. He holds a fanlike whisk, a common attribute for those involved in intellectual discourse. The bodhisattva Wenshu, on the left, grasps a scepter. Flanking bodhisattvas and three small monks witness the proceedings, and two celestials fly above. On the base of the sculpture, an incense burner is bordered by kneeling monks and lotuses. On the rear of the tablet, the incised image of a Buddha and two monks may have been engraved (and originally painted) much later than the carving on the front.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Chinese Buddhist Sculpture in New Light (April 14, 2002 to September 8, 2003)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  500s

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Fly whisk, Weimo, Chinese Art, Northern Qi dynasty (550 - 577), Wenshu, Monk, Stone, Lettering, Scepter

• Culture

  Buddhists, Chinese, Apsarases

• Object Type

  Sculpture