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- Permanent Link:
- https://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOAA003976/00001
Notes
- General Note:
- This deity is often depicted as a bearded, white-faced man dressed in the robes of a nobleman surrounded by a group of children. The bow and arrow he is holding are for the purpose of shooting the Dog Star, since it was believed that a family born under the Dog star would not be blessed with a son, and even if a son was born, he would only live for a short while. Zhang Xian was thus worshipped by women who were desirous of offspring, and as a kind of patron saint of children, his portrait was mostly hung in the sleeping quarters of a family home to watch over the young. It is said that originally Zhang Xian was an enlightened Daoist who was given a bow with the power to dispel epidemics, and his connection with the birth of sons is based upon several accounts. One possible romantic explanation behind this story is that when Lady Fei? concubine of Meng Chang (935-965 AD) prince of Shu, was taken captive by Taizu, founder of the Song dynasty in 960 AD. she secretly kept a picture of her former lover close to her. When discovered she said that it was only a picture of Zhang Xian. It has also been argued that Zhang Xian, as the bringer of children, may be a play on the words Zhang gongjia dan, which could mean either Zhang the archer draws the bow, or Zhang the archer increases birth.
- General Note:
- Published reference in: Preliminary list of Chinese woodblock prints in the SOAS Library
- General Note:
- Creative Commons (CC)-Lizenzen: Namensnennung-NichtKommerziell unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 international (CC BY-NC). Dieses Bild ist als in hoher Auflösung zur Verfügung. Kontaktieren Sie den Digital Library Project Office an der SOAS, University of London.
- General Note:
- Cette ressource numérique est dans le domaine public. S'il vous plaît, utiliser en accord avec la licence Creative Commons: Attribution-Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale conditions (CC BY-NC). Fichiers numériques de haute résolution sont disponibles sur la SOAS, Université de Londres - le Bureau du projet de bibliothèque numérique.
- General Note:
- Inked in six colours (blue, green, red, yellow, grey and black)
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- SOAS, University of London
- Rights Management:
- This item is in the public domain. Please use in accord with Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC). High resolution digital master available from SOAS, University of London - the Digital Library Project Office.
- Resource Identifier:
- CWP 49 ( accession number (preliminary list of chinese woodblock prints in the soas library) )
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