Representations of Hariti, The Mother of Demons, and The Theme of Raising The Alms-Bowl in Chinese Painting

Representations of Hāritī, the Mother of Demons, and the Theme of "Raising the Alms-Bowl"
in Chinese Painting
Author(s): Julia K. Murray
Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 43, No. 4 (1981 - 1982), pp. 253-284
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
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JULIA K. MURRAY
Freer Galleryof Art, Smithsonian D. C. 20o60
Institution,Washington,
REPRESENTATIONS OF HARITI, THE MOTHER OF DEMONS,

AND THE THEME OF "RAISING THE ALMS-BOWL"
IN CHINESE PAINTING
Mother of Demons, Hdriti,is well known throughout Buddhist Asia as a minor deity
The who became a protectresswhen the Buddha converted her from her practice of eating
human children. Similarto Avalokite'vara in certain functional respects, Hdriti has her own
distinctive iconography,which has been studied by a few zoth-centuryscholars.' An important
articleby Noel Peri discussesHdrition the basis of texts in the Buddhistcanon (Tripi.taka)that
recount or allude to her story. The earliest of these is the Hdriti sitra, a short Hinayina text
translatedinto Chineseduring the third centuryunder the name Kuei-tZu-mu chinga(Sutraof the
Mother of Demons).2 This sutradescribesher as the rapaciousmother of iooo demon-children,
who steals and devours the offspringof other people. In order to end her ravages, the Buddha
Sdkyamunihas the Jramayzas kidnapher childrenand hide them in his monasteryuntil she comes
to plead for their return.To get them back, Hiriti must acknowledge the evil of her deeds and
promise to accept Buddhist discipline. Thereafter,she and her children become protectors of
the faith, and she is furtherinstructedto give childrento childless couples who desire them.
Other texts present essentially the same story but vary in such details as the number of
Hdriti'schildren, the land in which she lived, and the mannerof her conversion. These differ-
ences led Peri to conclude that Hdriti was a folk deity whose cult was widespreadand whose
legends were modified to suit the needs and interests of her followers in diverse geographical
areas.3
Ogawa Kan'ichi'sb research suggests that Hdriti and her consort Paficika were popular
deities in Gandharawho were assimilatedinto Buddhismduring its expansionaryphase, prob-
ably in the second century.4The inclusion in the Hdriti sitra of a passage in which Sdkyamuni
' Chao Pang-yenbg,"Chiu-tzu-mu k'ao" (Some Remarks on the Hdriti Worship in China), Chung-yangyen-chiu-yaian Li-shih
yii-yenyen-chiu-sochi-k'an(Bulletin of the National ResearchInstitute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica),
Peking, vol. 2 no.3 (193 ): 261-274; Edouard Chavannes,review of La Ligendede Koeitseumouchen:Peinturede Li Long-
mien (io8i), T'oung pao ser. vol. 5 (1904): 490-499; Glen Dudbridge, The Hsi-yu chi (Cambridge, i970), pp. 16-18;
A.Foucher, "The Buddhist Madonna" in TheBeginningsof BuddhistArt, translated by L.A.Thomas and F. W. Thomas,
(Paris and London, 1917), PP.271-291; Kobayashi Tai'ichir&bh,"Shina ni okeru Karitei: sono shink8 to sono zuz6 to ni
tsuite" (Concerning Hdriti in China: Beliefs and Images), Shina bukky& shigaku(Historiography of Chinese Buddhism),
Tokyo, vol.2 no.3 (Sept.1938): 1-48; Ogawa Kan'ichibi, Bukky&bunkashikenkysi(Research on Buddhist Cultural
History), (Kyoto, 1973), PP. 3 1-5 1; Noel Peri, "Hdriti la Mdre-de-demons," Bulletin de l'Ecolefranfaise d'Extrime-Orient
(1917): 1-102; and Alexander C.Soper, Literary Evidence for Early Buddhist Art in China, (Ascona, i959), PP.45, 81,
227-228.
(hereafterabbreviated T.) (reprint edn. Tokyo,
2Taish6 shinshadai7,&kydbi 1962-1979), XXI, i26z. For a translation into
French, see Peri, "Hariti", pp. i6-z2i.
3 Peri, "HBriti", pp.42-44.
kenkyR,p. 41.
40Ogawa, Bukkydbunkashbi
253

instructsHiriti to answerthe prayersof the childlessis evidently a concession to a popularcult
already established. Hdriti's personal conversion by Sikyamuni himself, moreover, seems an
astute proselytizingdevice to encourageGandharansto follow her lead and accept Buddhism.
Worshipof Hiriti was thus incorporatedinto Buddhism,and as late as the mid-seventhcentury,
the T'ang pilgrim Hsitan-tsangCreportedthat childless Gandharanwomen offeredsacrificesto
H~ritiat the stupa built on the supposed site where Sdkyamuniconvertedher.s
The earliestimages of Hdritiare Gandharanstone sculpturesof the second through fourth
centuries,some of which were excavatedin Pakistan.6The images typicallyportrayHiriti as a
semi-clad,plump matron surroundedby children. She is often seated by her consort PIficika,
who is given the attributesof a god of wealth. Little in this iconographyis Buddhist; rather,
the benevolent functions of both deities take a pragmaticform that is consonant with simple
folk beliefs. The Gandharansculpturalrepresentationsof Hdritiemphasizeher most character-
istic aspect, provider of children.With childrenaroundher and Paficikabeside her, she cannot
be mistakenfor any other deity. Such sculpturesof Hiriti are in essencetimeless, staticicons.
Most of the later representationsof Hiriti throughout the Buddhist world, from Japan to
Java, preservethis iconic quality.7Although the goddess alone eventuallybecamemore popular
than the pair, she continuedto be portrayedwith varying numbersof childrenaroundher. Her
image was to be found in many monasteries,as attested by the T'ang Chinese monk I-chingd
(635-713), who frequently observed it on his travels through the Southeast Asian kingdoms
along the sea route between Chinaand India.s I-ching explainedthe ubiquity of Hiriti's image
by referringto the story as told in the chapteron Miscellaneain the Vinayaof the Mfila-sarvdsti-
vIdin sect which he translated (in Chinese Ken-penshuoi-ch'iehyu-pu pi-na-yehtsa-shihe).9In
this text Hdriti'sfamily backgroundand earlylife are describedat length and reasonsare given
for her desire to eat children. Furthermore,upon her conversion Sikyamuni makes her a pro-
tectress of Buddhists and their dwellings, promising that the monks would feed her regularly
after she gave up her previous diet. A few of the surviving paintings of Hdriti may have been
intendedas icons for this monasticritualof offeringfood. For example,the ninth centurytemple
bannerfound by LeCoq in Yar-khoto (Turfan)could well have been hung in the vestibule of
the kitchen of a monastery to receive offerings,as describedby I-ching.xoThis CentralAsian
painting is a schematicportrait,executedsimplywith ink and touches of color on coarse ramie.
Hiriti, nursing a baby at her bosom, is seatedon a smallstool with eight friskyinfantsarranged
diagrammaticallyon either side.
s Ibid., p.40; also cited in Dudbridge, Hsi-yuchi, p. 16.

6 For some examples, see Ogawa, Bukkyi bunkashikenky, pp. 33, 34, and 36; John Rosenfield, The DynasticArts of the
Kushans,(Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1967), fig.6i; and A.Foucher, L'Art Grico-Bouddhique du Gandhdra,vol.2 pt.I
(Paris, I918), pp. I25 and 129.
7 See Foucher, "The Buddhist Madonna," plates.
8 I-ching, Nan-hai chi-kueinei-fa-chuanbk,T. LIV, 2125, p.209; translated by Takakusu A Recordof the Buddhist
Junjirs,
Religion,(Oxford, 1896), pp. 37-38; cited in Peri, "Hiriti", p. i.
9 T. XXIV, 145, ch.3x, pp. 360-362; for French translation see Peri, "Hariti", pp.3-14. This text of the Sarvdstivadin
Vinaya School was brought to China in 695 and translatedinto Chinese by I-ching himself.
'0 Albert von LeCoq, Chotscho:Facsimile-WIiedergabe der WichtigenFunde der Ersten K'niglichPreussiscben Expeditionnach
Turfanin Ost-Turkistan,(Berlin, 1913), pl.4o; also Ogawa, Bukkydbunkashikenky#,p.69 fig.8; Kobayashi, "Shina ni
okeru Karitei", p. 26 fig. 6; and Foucher, Beginningsof BuddhistArt, frontispiece. The banner is now in the Museum fuir
Indische Kunst, Berlin.
254

T'ang and Sung referencesto statues and paintings of Hiriti in Chinese monasteriesattest
to her popularity in the heartlandof China as well as in the Western regions.," These texts
usually renderher name as "Kuei-tzu-muf"(Motherof Demons), or "Chiu-tzu-mug"(Mother
of Nine Children),in preferenceto the foreign "Ho-li-tih," which seems never to have been
popular in China.Furthermore,her identity eventuallybegan to merge with that of the native
female deity Hsi-wang-mui, the Queen-Motherof the West.xzThe standing figure of Hdriti,
wearing the robes and jewelry and carryingthe scepter usually associatedwith Hsi-wang-mu,
appearsin the twelfth-centurymuralsat the Yen-shang-ssuiin Shansi.13One of her attendants
holds an infant stretchinghis arms toward the deity. This iconographyfor Hiriti undoubtedly
predatesthe Yen-shang-ssumurals,which were painted between 1'58 and I167, and probably
reflectsat least a Northern Sung prototype.
The rise of Esoteric Buddhism recastHiriti's story and enlargedthe range of her presumed
powers. Introduced to China through the translations of Amoghavajra (Chin.: Pu-k'ungk,
705-774), and others, Esoteric sutrastaught magicalformulationsand ritualsthat transformed
the worship of many familiardeities. Two sutrasfor Hdriti,the Ta-yao-ch'a-n/i Huan-hsi-muping
Ai-tZu ch'eng-chiu fal
4 and Ho-li-ti-mu
chingms prescribe
chen-yen that the believershould makea
specific kind of portraitor statue of Hdritiin secret and carryout special rites in order to gain
her powerful aid. The majorityof paintings made for such purposes were undoubtedly scrolls,
for they could be preservedin the requisitesecrecymore readilythan wall-paintings.While none
from the T'ang period are known to remainin existence today, we may study their reflections
in the Japaneseiconographicaldrawings (quZfl) of the Heian, Kamakura,and Nambokuch6
periods (Fig. 2).16 Published Zuzjlfor both of these Esoteric sutras follow the iconographical
instructions closely and usually quote from the descriptionof the deity in one of the two texts.
The primaryvariationamong the drawings concernsthe numberof childrenportrayedaround
H~ritiand the elaborationof her daisand canopy.A survivingreflectionof Esoteric iconography
"r See various citations in Chao Pang-yen, "Chiu-tzu-mu k'ao," pp.264-270; and Kobayashi, "Shina ni okeru Karitei,"
pp. I6-23, 32-35. Other examples may be found in the following: P'ei Hsiao-ytian, Chen-kuan kung-ssu hua-shih (preface
dated 639), edition of Mei-shuts'ung-shublvol.7 ser.2 pt. 3 (Shanghai, 1947), pp. 20-2i; and Tuan Ch'eng-shih, Ssu-t'a
chibm(preface dated 843), (Peking, 1964), ch. i, p. 6 and ch. 2, p. 25; for translation and discussion of this last see
AlexanderC. Soper, "A Vacation Glimpse of the T'ang Temples of Ch'ang-an,"Artibus Asiae vol. 23, no. I (I96o), 33-
12 Chao Pang-yen, "Chiu-tzu-mu k'ao," p. 271.
'3 Venwu 1979 no.2, pl. 5/I. The accompanying reports are summarized and discussed by Patricia Eichenbaum Karetzky,
"The Recently Discovered Chin Dynasty Murals Illustrating the Life of the Buddha at Yen-shang-ssu, Shansi," Artibus
Asiae vol.42 no.4 (1980): 245-260.
'4 T. XXI, i26o; translated into Chinese circa 771 A.D. For French translation see Peri, "Hdriti," pp. 83-96. The sutra
calls Hariti "Abhirati" (Chin.: Huan-hsibn)and gives China as her home, where she and Paficika and their myriads of
followers are protectors of the world. The group comes to visit the Buddha, and she describesthe secret rituals by which
her protection may be summoned by believers. One of the methods is to paint a portrait of her as a lovely apsaraswith
pink skin, seated under a canopy on a dais with her right leg pendent. She is to wear a jeweled diadem, necklace, and
earrings,and to hold a pomegranate in her right hand. With her left hand she is to cradle her youngest child, and other
children are to be arrangedaround her dais. To her left and right stand attendants, one holding a white duster and the
other some kind of ornament. When the painting is completed and certain rites are performed by the devotee, she will
appearin the flesh to do his bidding.
's T. XXI, i261. For French translation, see Peri, "Hdriti", pp. 96-99. A portrait again is prescribed, as outlined in note 14.
However, the present sutra states that she is to have gold skin and to sit with both legs pendent.
16For referencesto her images in the iconographical scrolls reproduced in the TaishJshinshbdaizflky6Zuzfl(Tokyo, 1934), see
Matsumoto Ei'ichi, Tonkigano kenkyibo(Research on paintings from Tun-huang), (Tokyo, 1937), p.75 6, notes 1-4. See
also John Rosenfield et al., TheCourtlyTraditioninJapaneseArt andLiterature,(Cambridge,Ma., 1973), cat.no. 27.
255

in Chinese painting occurs in section 114of the handscroll attributedto Chang Sheng-weno
known as the "Long Roll of BuddhistImages (Fig. i)." 7 Paintedin the Ta LiP court in the far
southwest of China,this highly detailedand colorful scroll is dateableto 1173-1176. Conceptu-
ally similarto the Japanesezuzj, ChangSheng-wen'sillustrationnonethelessprovides a far more
aristocraticsetting with more attendantsand sumptuous clothing for Hiriti.
From this brief survey we may conclude that portrait-like representationsof Hdriti in
painting and sculpturewere produced in many areas and many periods and reflectedvarious
concepts of the deity. Chinese artists, however, created another iconography for Hdriti that
was unique to China, taking the form of an epic contest between her demonic forces and the
superiorpowers of the Buddha. This peculiarlyChinesetype of representationfocused on the
confrontation that led directly to her conversion, as described in the Satryuktdratna-pi.taka
(Chin.: Tsa-pao-tsang ching1).I8This text states that the Buddhahid Hiriti's favorite child under
his alms-bowlin order to teach her the anguish she causedto humanbeings when she devoured
their children.In returnfor her promise to stop killing, Sikyamuni allows Hiriti a glimpse of
the child under the bowl, whereupon she exhausts her powers in a vain attempt to free him.
Finally, she agrees to obey the Buddhistprohibitionsand her child is restoredto her.19
Within the group of extant Chinese paintings of Hdriti, the illustration of her dramatic
encounter with the Buddha, in handscrollform, is by far the most common type of represen-
tation of the Mother of Demons. Hdritiis visualizedin the moment of a suspensefulconfronta-
tion, instead of as an eternal, portrait-likeicon laden with symbolic attributes. This second
iconography for Hdriti, which actuallybelongs to the genre of narrativeillustration,does not
occur in any other land involved in the transmissionof Buddhism either to or from China.zo
Unless the evidence has been completely distorted by accidentsof survival, the logical conclu-
sion is that this version is solely Chinese.The representationof Hiriti in a symbolic portrait,by
contrast, is an iconography shared by many Buddhist countries, one that entered China from
CentralAsia and eventuallywas transmittedfrom Chinato Japan.
A title frequently given to these indigenous Chinese illustrations of the Hdriti story is
"Raising the Alms-bowl" (Cbieb-pot'u'), or occasionally,"Attacking the Alms-bowl" (chiehs
written with a differentcharacter).An astonishing number of Chinese paintings illustrating
"Raisingthe Alms-bowl" are scatteredin collections around the world.zIDespite their number,
See Helen B.Chapin, "A Long Roll of Buddhist Images," revised and supplementedby A.C. Soper,
ArtibusAsiae vol. 32
17
(1970): 5-41, 175-199, 259-306; and vol.33 (1971): 75-140; and Moritaka Matsumoto, "Chang Sheng-wen's Long Roll
of BuddhistImages:A Reconstruction and Iconology," (Ph. D. diss., Princeton University, 1976).
8sT. IV, 203; translated into Chinese during the Northern Wei period circa 471 A.D. by T'an-yaobPand Chi-chia-yehbq
(Kimkarya?);ch. 9, p. 492, story no. io6. Hdriti is here described as the rapacious child-eating mother of io,ooo demons,
who dotes especially on her youngest child, Priyankara(Chin.: Pin-chia-lobr).For a French translation, see Chavannes,
"Review," pp. 497-499.
'9 This account of her conversion is largely the same as that included in the much longer and later sutra Yu-pupi-na-yeh
tsa-shih(see note 9 above). However, the latter makes no mention of Hdriti's use of her powers to try to recover her
child before agreeing to accept Buddhist discipline.
20 The only
exception of which I am currently aware is an I8th or 19th century Tibetan panel painting in the Mus6e Guimet
(acc.no.MG 17494) illustrating the life of the Buddha, in which a small vignette shows the child under the bowl and a
"well-sweep" erected over it.
21 Among the institutions owning such scrolls are the following: the British Museum, Mus6e Guimet,
Kyoto National
Museum, National Palace Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Freer Gallery of Art, Nelson Gallery, Indianapolis
Museum of Art, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Denver Museum of Art. This list is by no means exhaustive;
furthermore, many more scrolls remain in private hands.
256

the group has not been studied comprehensively.While isolated publicationshave treateda few
of the scrolls,27 two majorobstacleshavedelayedattemptsto analyzethe pictorialiconography
of Hdritipaintingssystematically.One problemis that the extantpaintingsremainlargely
unpublishedand consequentlylittleknown.Regardedas belongingto the "vulgar"tradition
of popularillustration,they have attractedlittleinterestfromarthistorians.A secondproblem
is the difficultyof sorting out useful iconographicalinformationfrom the formidablemass
of Buddhistwritings.The presentstudyis intendedto drawattentionto someof the intriguing
issuesraisedby the groupof paintingsandwill attemptto clarifythe developmentof the illus-
trativetradition.
Thefocalpiecein thisstudyis one of thelesserknownChinesepaintingsin the Metropolitan
Museumof Art, a handscrollthat purportsto be one of the earliestextantillustrationsof
"Raisingthe Alms-bowl(Figs.3-7)."23 Previouslyunpublished butfora briefnoticein the Met-
ropolitanMuseumof ArtBulletinin 1927 announcingitsacquisition,thehandscrollbearsa label
writtenby YiianK'o-went(1890-1931), providingthe title and attributionto an anonymous
Five Dynasties(907-960) master.The densecomposition,41 /, incheslong and Io% inches
high, is finelyexecutedin ink and colors and gold on a smooth,buff-coloredpaper.At the
beginningof the scroll,behinda screenof rocksandtallpines,BuddhistandTaoistdeitiesand
disciplesstandaroundSikyamuniin anelongatedsemi-circle (Figs.3-4). Seatedcross-leggedon a
lotus throne,Sikyamunimakesa gestureof meditationwith his hands,andan irregularhaloof
flamesemanatesfrom the top of his body. Furtherinto the scroll,immediatelyfollowingthe
Buddhistgroupandcontemplated gravelyby it, is the climacticstrugglein whicha squadronof
demonsis laboringto raisethe largebowl underwhich Sikyamunihas imprisonedthe child
(Fig.5). Using an elaboraterope-and-pivot mechanismresemblinga well-sweep,one groupof
demonsattemptsto hoist the bowl off the rockfromabovewhile otherstry to pry it up from
below. At the far end of the makeshiftdevice standsthe elegantfigureof Hdritiin Chinese
dress,claspingher handstogetherbeforeher chinin a gestureof anguishedsuspense.Behind
her, two youngfemaleattendantshold up tasseledfansmountedon tall staffs,anda grotesque
old hag gapes at herselfin a mirror.This group remainsmotionless,watchingthe frenzied
demonstuggingmadlyon four ropestied to the left end of the leverin orderto bringit down
and thus raisethe bowl tied to the otherend. One of the ropeshas alreadysnapped,sending
two bat-likedemonssprawlingto the ground.
In the sky abovethis melodramatic spectacle,severaldeitiesassociatedwith popularmytho-
logy arelaunchinga futileassaulton the sereneBuddha.A thunder-godaboutto hurla javelin
spearheads the attack,supportedby two wind-godswho grip a swordin one handand flasha
magictallywith the other.Tien-muU, the Motherof Lightning,focuseshertwo deadlymirrors
22 Chavannes, "Review"; A. W. Franks, "On Some Chinese Rolls with Buddhist Legends and Representations,"Archaeolo-
gia, or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity vol. 53 (1892): 239-244; Marcel Huber, La Ligende de Koei tseu mou chen:
Peinturede Li Long-mien(io81), (Paris, 1904); Yonezawa Yoshihobs, "Ri Shin hitsu Kishimo ky6 hachi zukan ni tsuite"
(On 'A Picture of HdiritiStriving to Snatch away the Bowl' by Li Sen), Kokkano. 92i (Dec. I968): 24-35.
23 Acc. no.27.24, published in Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol.22 no.3 (Mar. 1927): 90-91. Colophons
mounted after the painting and its accompanying sutra text are signed Wu Ch'engbt(1249-1333), Chang Yiianbu(active
ca. 1320), Pi Lunga (i8th c.; three colophons), and Yiian K'o-went (two colophons). Yiian K'o-wen, the last private
owner of the scroll, was the second son of Yuan Shih-k'aibv(1859-1916); see Who'sWhoin China,6th ed., vol.2 (Shang-
hai, 1950), supplement p. 165.
257

on the Buddha, as Lei-kung', the Duke of Thunder, hurtles through the sky behind her. His
animal-headsnarling in rage, he flails his hammer and chisel at the flaming ring of drums
encirclinghim. Four demons staggerup behindhim, strainingunderthe weight of an enormous
rock to heave at the Buddha. They are followed by Yii-shih", the Masterof Rain, who charges
forward on the back of a scaly dragon cleaving its way with powerful four-toed claws through
a churningsea. The sky is turbulentwith lurid flamesand swirling smoke, lending the scene an
emotionalintensity equal to that of the struggle taking place directlybelow.
The celestialattackmerges into the last majorsegment of the composition, a scene showing
the arrivalof reinforcementsto join in the fray (Figs. 6-7). A row of many-headed,multi-armed
demon-archersdrawing their bows extends diagonally leftward below the Master of Rain on
his dragon. Following the trajectoryof the arrows, one sees that their previous shots have all
turned harmlesslyinto lotus blossoms around the Buddha's head. As scantily-claddemons
sound the battle-call on three drums at the bottom left, assorted demons descend from the
slopes at the left end, moving rightward into the arena. Led by a sword-swinging general
mounted on a ch'i-lin,they come brandishingspears, swords, lances, maces, and snakes. Some
walk; others ride strange beasts, among them a tiger, lion, elephant, bear, and something
resemblinga rhinoceros.A troop of armoredinfantryemergesfrom a rocky pass in the upper
left corner, waiting with lances upraised for a signal to charge. The scroll concludes with a
rocky outcrop and an overhanging tree forming a kind of closed parenthesiswith the similar
repoussoirdevice used in the opening scene.
Structurally,the Metropolitan'spainting is conceived as a tripartite composition giving
equal emphasisto the three main forces in the confrontation: Sdkyamuni,Hdriti, and the de-
mons. The figures massed at each end of the composition face inward, and the compositional
forces surging toward the center of the scroll from both directionsclimax at the suspensefully
motionless figure of Hdriti. Opposing forces thus come into balanceand the work as a whole
has stability, symmetry,and a self-containedrhythmicflow. Although the composition seems
dense with figures,the pictorialspaceis deep enough to createroom for all. Behinda repoussoir
of trees and rocks, the figures are overlapped or placed along imaginarydiagonals, although
without much reduction in scale for those that are further away. Furthermore,the diagonal
placementand foreshorteningof the "well-sweep"definea large, substantialspacein the center-
foreground.In the first two-thirds of the scroll, there is no furtherdefinitionof the ground nor
any object to clarifythe background.At the left end, by contrast,the oblique cliffwall limits the
backgroundand shapes the pass from which the armoredwarriorsemerge.
The exactorigin of the iconographyfor "Raising the Alms-bowl" is a matterof speculation.
The most explicit and indeed only canonicalreferenceto Hariti's attempt to defy the Buddha
and free her son from the bowl is the terse sentence in the Tsa-pao-tsang ching:"She exhausted
her divine power but could not get him out."24 Nothing is said specificallyabout an attackby
demon hordes. However, it seems most likely that a resourcefulreligious painter interpreted
this "divine power" as referring to her influence over her myriad demon-childrenand their
armies. Thus, her divine power is her ability to marshalprodigious numbers of demons to
her cause.
24 See note 18.
258

To portraysucha demononslaught,thefirstillustratorcouldhaveborrowedexplicitimages
from the illustrationof anotherestablishedsubject,Mira'sattackon the Buddha(Fig.I7).
Mira, the Evil One, attempted to destroy Skyamuni by breaking his concentration, as is
describedin the biographicalLalita-vistara.zs The theme was depicted on Gandharanreliefs of
the Kushan period and was popular in wall-paintingsin Chinese Buddhist temples at least as
early as T'ang.26 Scrutiny of an extant ninth-centurypainting from Tun-huang now in the
Musee Guimet depicting "MIra'sAttack" reveals certainsimilaritiessuggesting that its icono-
graphy contributed to that of "Raising the Alms-bowl."z2Among the legions of demon-
attackersportrayedin the Guimet scroll are severalwhose forms are conceptuallyrelatedto ones
in the Metropolitan'spainting(Figs. 6-7). Some of these demonsaremulti-headedmonstrosities;
others have bat-like heads and wings; there are demons wielding serpents, hurling boulders,
blowing long curved horns; some ride on elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses,and so forth. These
types are not mentioned or describedin the canonicalaccounts concerning Hdriti.zs Since Mira
is called "King of Demons" in the Lalita-vistara,and the Hdriti sitra describes all of Hdriti's
childrenas "kings of demons," it is logical that their armiesshould be similar."Mira's Attack"
and "Raising the Alms-bowl" also coincide in their depiction of the deities in charge of rain,
thunder,lightning, and wind. These heavenly officials,potent figuresin popularreligion before
the introductionof Buddhismto China,z9coexistedwith Buddhistdeitiesand appearin Buddhist
wall-paintingsat Tun-huang.3o
The earliestunambiguousrecord of a Hdritipaintingthat is definitelynot of the iconic type,
but rather a narrativeversion portraying the confrontation between Hdriti and Sdkyamuni,
appearsin the early twelfth centurytext Tung-ching meng-hualu'.31 In his descriptionof the Hsiang-
kuo-ssu monasteryin the Northern Sung capital at Pien-liang, Meng Ydian-lao"mentions a
mural called "The Buddha's Subjugation of the Mother of Demons, Raising the Basin"
(Fo hsiangKuei-tZu-mu paintedby a Sung artiston the right wall of the portico of the
chieh-y~i"),
25 There are two Chinese translationsof this text: the P'u-yaochingbw(T.III, 186), translatedin 308 by Dharmarakpa(Chin.:
Fa-hu bx); and Fang-kuangta-chuang-yen chingby(T.III, 187), translatedin 683 by Divakara (Chin.: Ti-p'o-ho-lo bz).For an
English translation, see N. J. Krom, TheLife of the Buddha,(The Hague, 1926), esp. pp. 102-105.
26 For examples of the Gandharan reliefs, see Foucher, L'Art Greco-Bouddhique, vol.2 pt. I figs. 402-403; and Rosenfield,
DynasticArts, figs. 8o-8 I. For China, Chang Yen-ytian records a mural at the Kuang-chai-ssucain Ch'ang-an paintedby
the Central Asian artist surnamed Wei-ch'ihcb; see Li-tai ming-huachiec(preface dated 847), edition Hua-shibts'ung-shu
vol. I (reprinted Taipei, 1974), P.44 (ch. 3 p.40).
27 For information concerning the Guimet's painting, see Jeannine Auboyer et al., Raritiesof theMusie Guimet,(New York,
1975), cat.no.44.
28 The most specific description of Hariti's demon-children is found in the Hdriti sfitra.Her Iooo children, equally divided
between heaven and earth, are in charge of all sorts of demons, including tree-demons, earth-demons, water-demons,
impersonators of human beings, sea-demons, boat and carriage demons, house demons who cause nightmares, demons
who incite men to murder, demons of sickness and death, etc. The physical appearanceof these demons is not always
suggested by their classifications, however.
29 See E.T.C.Werner, A Dictionary of ChineseMythology,(New York, 1969; reissue of Shanghai, 1932), pp.I26-I27,
242-243, 502, and 602-603.
30 For example, in the sixth-century Cave 249, (Pelliot IoI), partially reproduced in T6 Kengo cd, Tonkdeno michi (The
Road to Tun-huang), (Tokyo, 1978), PP.70-71; and Osvald Sir6n, ChinesePainting:LeadingMastersandPrinciplesvol. 3
(New York, 1956), pl. 3I.
31 Meng Yiian-laoz, Tung-ching meng-hualux, edition with annotations by Teng Chih-ch'eng e, (Hong Kong, 1961), ch.3,
p. 9 I. Another edition of this source is cited by Dudbridge, Hsi-yuchi,p. 17. See also Soper, "Hsiang-kuo-ssu, an Imperial
Temple of Northern Sung," Jour. of theAmericanOrientalSoc., vol.68 (1948), 27 and 42.
259

main hall.32 Another possible recording of a Northern Sung illustration is an entry entitled
"The Glass Basin" (Po-li chient'uab) in the section on Li Kung-linac (1o49-Iio6) in Hsiian-ho
hua-p'uad,the imperially sponsored catalogue completed circa I zo.33 In the Metropolitan's
painting, the bowl imprisoning Hiriti's child is transparentand possibly made of glass; thus,
such a title could conceivablybeen attachedto a painting of the subject.
The creationof pictorialiconographyfor "Raisingthe Alms-bowl" seemsto have stimulated
the composition of texts elaboratingon the details of the confrontation between Hiriti and
Slkyamuni. One such text, the "ExpandedCommentaryon a Verse (gdthd)of the Hsiang-chi
ching"(Kuang-yen Hsiang-chichingchieh-shuae),is written in elegant gold script on indigo sutra
paper and mounted after the Metropolitan'spainting.34It is a somewhat colloquialdescription
of the rapacityof the Mother of Demons and her followers, the Buddha'sintervention,and the
climacticcontest between them. The text is especiallyvivid in describingthe various offensive
tactics of the demons, and macabredetails concerning their savagery are offered with relish.
Hiriti's capitulationand promise to observe the five Buddhist prohibitions, by contrast, are
stated as an abruptconclusion to the tale. The piece is written in running-regularscript (hsing-
k'ai shuaf) and signed by Huan-chusha-menYin-yang-pen~g,apparentlya monk but unrecorded
in the standardbiographicalreferences.3sIn view of his writing style, which shows the influence
of Chao Meng-fu's" (1254-13z22) calligraphyand resemblesthat of Yi0Ho i (1307-1 382), he is
possibly a 14th century monk.
Evidence for another text elaboratingon the episode survives in the title of a lost Yfian
tsa-chiidrama,"Account of the Motherof Demons Raisingthe Alms-bowl"(Kuei-tqu-mu chieh-po
chiai) recordedin Lu kueip'uak, an importantI4th century catalogue of drama by Chung Ssu-
ch'engal.36Chung lists it under the name of Wu Ch'ang-ling'a, a northern dramatistactive in
the Chin and early Ytian dynasties. Although the text has been lost, the fact that the type of
32 The linguistic similarity between this title and that used in T'ang texts for the "Subjugation of Mira" (Hsiang Mocf) is
another significant link between the two narrativeillustrations.
33 Hsian-hohua-p'uad (preface dated 20zo), edition Hua-shihts'ung-shuvol. (reprinted Taipei, 1974), P-45 (ch.7,
P. 77).
4 The title Hsiang-chiching is not found in the Buddhist canon. On a scroll recorded by the modern connoisseur Yeh
Kung-cho, the title of the text is given as "Expanded Commentaryon a verse from the Pao-chichingcg"(Yeh Kung-cho,
Hsia-an ch'ing-piluch,Hong Kong, 1964, ch.2, p. io8a). On several other scrolls, the text is taken instead from the Tsa-
pao-tsangchingbut given the title Pao-chiching,a substitution for which I have found no explanation. (The sutras in the
collected under the name Pao-chichinghave no connection with Hiriti's story.) These examples include a scroll
Tripi.takato Ch'iu
attributed Ying in the Freer Gallery of Art (acc. no. 17. 134); a scroll attributed to Li Kung-lin in the Mus6e
Guimet, publishedby M. Huber (see note zz22;) Kano Tan'y~i'scopy of a scroll attributedto Li Kung-lin (see Tan'y shukurZu
[Small Sketches by Kano Tan'yii] vol. i, Kyoto 1980, p. 177, no. i); a scroll attributed to Li Kung-lin, of unknown
whereabouts (Chavannes, "Review," pp.492-493); and several others recorded in traditional connoisseurs' catalogues.
One scroll described by Franks as being painted in 185 by a Japanese artist named Yoshichika or Aishin apparently
has the Tsa-pao-tsang chingtext transcribedafter it but is given the title Hsiang-chiching("On Some Chinese Rolls," p. 243;
I have not been able to locate the scroll). A Five Dynasties' scroll with a colophon referring to the Hsiang-chichingwas
in the Ch'ien-lung imperial collection (Chang Chao et al. Pi-tien chu-linci(1744), facsimile reprint Taipei, 1971, vol. I
ch.II , pp. 129-130). At any rate, the "Expanded Commentary"is actually based on the verse from the Tsa-pao-tsang ching,
although it differsin attributing only 500 children to Hdriti, ratherthan io,ooo.
as On the same scroll recorded by Yeh Kung-cho (see note 34), the monk's name is given as Yin-yang Ming-penck;i.e.,
the prominent monk-calligrapherChung-feng Ming-pend (1263-1323). Chung-feng Ming-pen is known to have stayed
at a monastery called Huan-chu (Toda Teisuke, "Figure Painting and Chan-Priest Painters in the Late Yiian," Pro-
ceedingsof the InternationalSymposiumon ChinesePainting,Taipei, 1972, P. 399).
36 For a discussion of Hdriti's appearancein Yiian drama, and references to primary sources, see Dudbridge, Hsi-yu chi,
p.17.
z6o

Hiriti paintingunderdiscussionis often calledby the sametitle as this dramasuggests an intimate
connection between their subjects. There are also records of an early southern dramawith the
same title, providing evidence of the widespreadpopularityof the story. It is not clear exactly
what relationship the northern and southern dramas bear to the "Expanded Commentary"
mounted in the Metropolitan'shandscroll, although the title suggests that they also focus on
Hariti's confrontationwith Sdkyamuni.
There are several other scrolls that are very closely relatedto the Metropolitan'sillustration
of the conversion of Hiriti, of which six will be brieflyintroduced. They will be called Type A
scrolls for convenience in comparingthem with a second group of related scrolls later on. All
of the Type A versions are short handscrollswhose compositions are basicallythe same as that
of the Metropolitan'spainting. They differin the combinationof colors used and in quality of
brushwork. All but the Metropolitan'sversion are painted on silk.
The most interestingof the relatedscrollsis a much batteredpaintingin the BritishMuseum
long associatedwith the name of the ninth-centuryreligious painterChao Kung-yu", and now
reattributedto the twelfth century.37A finely painted work, it seems decidedly more archaic
than the Metropolitan'sscroll, although their compositions are nearlyidentical. (Unfortunately
its condition makes reproductionimpractical.)The two works differin subtle technicaldetails
and expressivenuances,however, as well as in paletteand medium.In the "ChaoKung-yu," for
example, the ten disciples of the Buddha are depicted as distinct individuals, both in their
physical attributesand in their facial expressions(Fig. I8). This interestin differentiatingtypes
seems to extend to the much-damagedother members of the assemblyas well; whereasin the
Metropolitan'sversion, all these figures have a more impersonal,decorous quality. The "Chao
Kung-yu" excels in the drawing of the demons (Fig. 19), capturing both their frenzied vigor
and bizarreforms, while the demons of the Metropolitan'sscroll are less energeticand in some
cases slightly droll. The brushlines that outline and contour the figuresin the "ChaoKung-yu"
scroll also are perceptiblymore sensitive, fluctuatingin width and tone with disciplinedease, in
contrast to a somewhat more formulaichandling of the brush in the Metropolitan'sversion.
The renderingof trees and rocks also differsbetween the two scrolls, the "ChaoKung-yu"
being simpler in structureand less decorative in coloring compared with the Metropolitan's
version. The latter, furthermore,shows an element of landscapeabsent in the "ChaoKung-
yu," the cliff that defines the narrow pass at the left end of the scroll. Other minor details also
distinguish the two paintings, such as the ornamentaldesigns on the clothing and banners.
One interpretationof these observed differencesis that the Metropolitan'spainting is a direct
copy from the "Chao Kung-yu." Another possibility is that they are both renditions of the
same master design, one that may have been reproduced many times in order for various
temples to have a copy. Cartoonsfor certain standardsubjects in religious painting are men-
tioned by Kuo Jo-hstiao,writing circa o7o, as being preservedin palace storehousesand made
availablewhen a temple needed to replaceor repairits murals.38These cartoonsno doubt could
be used to make scroll-copiesas well.'
3n A.29; partially reproduced in Laurence Binyon, PeinturesChinoisesdansles Collectionsd'Angleterre,Ars Asiatica vol.9,

(Paris and Brussels, 1927), pl. 15.
38 See Alexander C. Soper, KuoJo-hsii'sExperiencesin Painting,(Washington, 1951), p. 98.
39 Lothar Ledderose's studies of paintings of the "Ten Kings of Hell," presented at various international symposia of
261

The other five Type A scrolls, all obviously later in date of execution, nonetheless follow
the same composition. One scroll bearsa label calling it "Paintingof the Supernaturalby Chia
Shih-kuof the Sung" (SungChiaShih-kuShen-kuai t'Uap), but from its crudeexecutionandmuddy
colors it must be a very late work, possibly of the nineteenthcentury.4oAnother copy, not quite
fully reproducedin two dim, unprovenancedphotographsin the Princeton University photo-
graphic archive, is of indeterminatequality and date.41 Two of the other three works, one in
the BritishMuseum4zand one in the NationalPalaceMuseum,Taiwan,43beara forged signature
and seal of Ch'iu Yingaq (active ca. 1510-15 5z); and another of the same type in the Freer
Gallery of Art is attributedto Ch'iu by its first colophon.44While none of the scrolls seems of
the technical quality that one would expect from the hand of Ch'iu Ying, his copies of earlier
versions are recordedin connoisseurs'cataloguesfrom the late Ming on.45sIt seems certainthat
interest in the Hiriti subject revived at that time.
Stylistic nuances and differencesin the renderingof forms suggest that the three "Ch'iu
Ying" paintings belong to a later recensionthan the Metropolitan-"ChaoKung-yu" pair. On
the British Museum's "Ch'iuYing," for instance, the blue-and-greenlandscapeis treatedas a
planarsurface,subdivided into relentlesslyrepetitiveunits. The texturing of the flat rock sur-
faces is a patternizedand simplifiedversion of that seen in the Metropolitan'sscroll. (The "Chao
Kung-yu" is too damagedat both ends to comparelandscapetreatment.)Furthermore,the use
of mineralblue and green is much less sparingthan in the earlierpair. The hilly slopes at each
end of the "Ch'iuYing" versions have become abstract,formal elements decorativelypitched
at a steep angle in relationto the bottom of the scroll. The PalaceMuseum "Ch'iuYing" even
adds a heavy bank of archaisticclouds at both ends. The tendencytowardformalizationin the
three laterscrolls is also evident in the pine trees in the opening section, where repetitivescaling
and knothole patternsproduce a decorativeabstraction.Other details, such as the application
of moss-dots, are also much tidier and patternizedin the later paintings. The figures likewise
are less substantialin form and their inexpressivefacial featuresare concentratedin the center
of their flat, pear-shapedfaces. Lacking the individualizing detail seen in the earlierpair of
scrolls, the "Ch'iuYing" figuresare reducedto impersonal,symbolic types.
The compositions of the three "Ch'iu Ying" scrolls display subtle structuralchanges from
the original composition of "Raisingthe Alms-bowl." For example,the landscapesetting plays
a more prominentrole in the "Ch'iuYing" scrolls than in the early pair. The figure groups do
not loom so large in the compositions of the later works, for they are reduced to sizes appro-
priate for the middle-ground and inserted into this more dominant environment. Another
differencebetween the older versions and the "Ch'iuYing" trio occurs in the spacing between
individual figures and between groups. The three later scrolls leave a corridor of blank silk
Chinese painting in 1980 and 198i, have demonstratedthe importance of copying and even the use of mechanicalmethods
in the reproduction and dissemination of another cycle of religious paintings.
40 I had an opportunity to view this scroll in 1979 at Christie's in New York, but do not know its present whereabouts.
41 The photographs, which belong to the Far Eastern Seminar,bear the misleading identification "Maiijuiri Preaching."
42 Unpublished; acc. no. Add. 33

43 Ku-kungshu-bualucm, revised and enlarged edition (Taipei, 1965), ch. 8 (chien-mu),p.43.
44 Unpublished; acc.no. 17.134.
45 The earliest to mention Ch'iu Ying's copy of an older painting of the
subject is Lou Chien, Hsiieh-kuhbs-yenca(early
I7th c.), edition Ch'in-tingssu-k'uch'fian-shu
chen-pen,Wang Yun-wu ed., ser.7 (Taipei, 1976), ch.24, pp. 2b-3a.
262

separatingthe Buddhist assembly from the demons gathered around the "well-sweep," thus
interruptingthe compositional flow. By contrast, in the tightly organized Metropolitanand
"ChaoKung-yu" versions, the space between the seated Buddhaand the "well-sweep"is filled
by three monks and a semi-clad guardian,who carrythe eye directly to the wind-god at the
head of the next section. In the earlierpair of scrolls, moreover, the figures are placed closer
together within their respective groups, in contrast to a somewhat lower density in the later
scrolls. A third structuralchange concernsthe proportions allotted to the three sections of the
composition, namely the Buddhist assembly, the "well-sweep" scene, and the demon army.
Comparedto the two earlycompositions, where the three areasoccupy roughly equal space, the
"Ch'iu Ying" scrolls tend to show a compression of the Buddhist group into less than one-
third of the scroll and a merging of the other two partsinto one long opposing section.
A second group of illustrations,of which a scroll in the Mus6e Guimet attributed to Li
Kung-lin is representative,constitutes our Type B.46 Here, the sequence of primarycomposi-
tional elements is reversed from their order in Type A scrolls. Proceeding from right to left,
Type A presents the Buddhist assembly, the "well-sweep," Hdriti, and the demon army;
Type B shows firstthe demon army,Hdriti,the "well-sweep,"and finallythe Buddhistassembly.
The direction toward which the "well-sweep"points in Type B is also reversedfrom Type A.
This virtual flip-floppingof the composition suggests the effect of turning over a tracing or a
stencil so that it is used wrong side up. It is possible that such an event might have initiatedthe
development of the Type B composition.
Type B scrolls differin other significantways from those of Type A. They are all several
yards in length and thus much longer than the compact Type A illustrations.Furthermore,the
majorityof the availablepictorial surface is devoted to the demon army. In cinematicfashion
the demons marchor fly toward the scene of the conflict. Introducedsingly or in small groups,
each type of creaturehas the spotlight for a moment to flauntits bizarreform. The outlandish
figures include such amusingtypes as walking trees, shrimps,fish, bats, birds, lion-dogs, and so
forth. The celestial attackersseen in Type A, such as the wind-gods, Mother of Lightning,
Master of Rain, and Duke of Thunder, are omitted from Type B scenes.
Having passed the head of the grandparadeof demons, we come next to the grieving figure
of Hiriti, now seated in the midst of a large group of elegantly dressed women and children
who comfort and attend her. There is no suggestion of Hiriti's defianceof the Buddha'swill;
she does not even look toward the "well-sweep." Four more women and two children stand
under the "well-sweep," keeping an eye on the trapped child. At the far end, the Buddha sits
cross-legged on a simple rocky platform, attended only by two guardiansand two disciples,
Ananda and Kifyapa.
Most of the Type B scrolls, which are frequentlyattributedto Li Kung-lin, are painted in
ink-monochromein the pai-miao"or "outline drawing" manner.The Guimet scroll is a work
on silk; the JapanesemasterKano Tan'yii'sas (1602-1I674) copy of a nearlyidentical scroll also
attributedto Li Kung-lin is painted on paper.47The inscriptionat the end of the Guimet scroll,
46 For full reproduction and translation of the Guimet scroll, see Huber, Ligende;this book is critically reviewed by Cha-
vannes, "Review."
47 Tan'yf shukuzu vol. I, pp. 174-178 (full reproduction) and pp. 315-316 (transcriptions).
263

purporting to be by Li, is dated the fifth month of the fourth year of the Yiian-fengat era
(i.e., Io8I), while that reproducedby Kano Tan'ya is dated the fifth month of the third year of
the same era (i. e., 1080). A scroll in the Nelson Galleryof Art, bearinga traditionalattribution
to Ch'iu Ying,48is another closely related work in ink on paper; its sequence of demons is
somewhat differentfrom the Guimet or Kano Tan'yft but similar to a scroll in the British
Museumbearingthe seals of a paintersurnamedKaoa (Fig. 22).49 A rathershorterversion in the
Denver Museum of Art (Figs. 20, 21)so and one partiallypublishedby Chavannesas belonging
to the BritishMuseum (apparentlyan error)s5both are undated examplespainted on silk with
signaturespurportingto be those of Li Kung-lin.
Although Li Kung-lin was renowned for his paintings in the pai-miaomode as well as for
an ability to bring fresh insight to traditional subjects in religious illustration, there is no
documentaryproof of his connection with the Hiriti theme apartfrom the vague referenceto
the painting called "The Glass Basin" recorded in Hsiian-hohua-p'u,which may or may not
illustratethe conversionof Hiriti.s5In any case, apartfrom the often-suspectcolophons attached
to the scrolls themselves, the earliesttext to connect Li with the subject is Chang T'ai-chieh's
Pao-huiluav (1633), a notorious catalogue of fakes.s5Cataloguesthereafterabound with refer-
ences to Li Kung-lin's illustrationsof the subject, and it is obvious that more than one version
was in circulation.s4It seems most likely that the Type B composition was createdin the late
i6th or early i7th century, and collectors accepted it as coming from Li Kung-lin partially
becauseof the pai-miaostyle frequentlyused in its execution.
The developmentof Type B from TypeA is illuminatedsomewhatby a paintingin the Indiana-
polis Museumof Art, with a seal of WangChen-p'engaw (ca. i28o-ca. 1329) (Figs. 8-io).ss Struc-
turally,its composition is close to that of the compact Type A scrolls; however, the figuresare
paintedinpai-miao,as in the case of many Type B scrolls. Upon close scrutiny,furthermore,the
painting shows the beginnings of tendencies that later appearfully developed in the Type B
scrolls. For example, the Buddhist assembly is compressed into a short space at the front of
the scroll, while the demon army is drawn out at greaterlength at the other end. Groups of
figures are isolated and shifted aroundto createa more horizontaland linearprocession, some-
what flatteningthe composition. Most notably, the posse of demon warriorsdescendingfrom
48 Unpublished; acc. no. 35.165.

49 Acc.no. 31o; described in Franks, "On Some ChirieseRolls," pp. 243-244.
so Unpublished; acc.no. 1955. I.
s5 Chavannes, "Review," pp.492-493; partially illustrated in Franks, "On Some Chinese Rolls," pl. 19, and described on
pp. 241-242. The British Museum has no record of owning this scroll.
52 See page 26o and note 33, above.
ss Chang T'ai-chieh, Pao-huiluav, reprint of Chih-pu-tsu-chai edition, (Taipei, 1972), PP.409-416, (ch.Io, pp. I5a-IS8b),
This scroll is also recorded in Pi-tien chu-linvol.i, ch.9, pp. III-II3; and discussed in English by Agnes E.Meyer,
ChinesePaintingas Reflectedin the ThoughtandArt of Li Lung-mien(New York, 1923), P.355, I. Even though the painting
and its impressive roster of colophons are obviously "too good to be true," Chang T'ai-chieh's entry is useful for deter-
mining when Li Kung-lin came to be popularly associated with the subject.
54 For some examples, see Pi-tien chu-linvol.I, ch. Io, p. 123; Wang Chieh et al., Pi-tien chu-linhsii-pienco(1793), facsimile
reprint (Taipei, 1971), P. 7 1; T'ao Liang, Hung-toushu-kuanshu-huachicp(1836), edition with introduction by P'an Chung-
jui (1882), ch.I, pp. I7b-Ig9b;and Liang Chang-chii, T'ui-anchin-shihshu-huapacq(1845), edition I-shushang-chien hsfian-chen
ser. 4 (Taipei, 1972), pp. 743-746 (ch.II, pp. 26a-27b). The first three examples are also noted by Meyer, ChinesePainting,
PP-354-35 5.
ss Acc.no.60o.35; published in Chang Heng, Yiin-hui-chai ts'ang T'ang Sungi-lai ming-huachio, (Shanghai, 1948), no.28.
Wang is best known for his meticulous, fine-line figures and architecturalscenes.
264

a ridge at upper left in the Metropolitan-"ChaoKung-yu" pairhas been moved to the very end
of the line of demons striding across the middle ground of the "Wang Chen-p'eng." Haloes
and pockets of empty spacehave been added aroundmany of the figures,permittingthem to be
read more easilyas individualsand reducingthe densityof groups. The greaterseparation
between groups is reinforcedby the insertion of extralandscapeelements, which are rendered
in the Tung Yiian/Chii-janidiom. If this composition were turned over and the isolation of
figures intensified, creating a lengthy procession, then the composition would be poised to
evolve into something like the Type B composition.
Whether or not Wang Chen-p'engactuallypainted the Indianapolisscroll, the existence of
something like it in the late sixteenth century is known from Wang Shih-chen'sa (i 526- 1590)
notes on a painting by the little-known Chuyiay (I293-13655).56Wang Shih-chendescribesthe
work as a fine copy of an older painting that had once been in the Hsiian-ho collection of the
late Northern Sung emperor Hui-tsung (r. iioo-iz25), obviously referringto some Type A
scroll. Pi Lung" (active late 18th century), who saw the scroll approximatelytwo centuries
later, confirmsthat it was paintedin thepai-miaomode.s7At any rate, the existenceof apai-miao
version in a collection as prominent as that of Wang Shih-chenmay have helped to pave the
way for the creationof the Type B illustrationin the late sixteenthor earlyseventeenthcentury.
Becauseof Li Kung-lin's eminenceas an earlymasterofpai-miao,his name was attachedto the
result, and a notion was perpetuatedthat there was an anonymouspainting from the Hsitan-ho
collection behind that of "Li Kung-lin." It is interesting to note that the second colophon on
the Indianapolisscroll, dated 1389, opens with a flatteringdescriptionof Wang Chen-p'engas
the heir to Li Kung-lin as a master of the pai-miaostyle; the author, however, does not claim
that Li himself ever painted the subject.
To account for the greaternumbersof demons in Type B compositions and especiallythe
introduction of the many species not seen in Type A scrolls, we may look to probable contri-
butions from two sources. First, some of the demons appearto representtypes mentioned in
the Hiriti silra, which speaksof Hdriti'schildrenas tree-demons,water-demons,earth-demons,
impersonatorsof humanbeings, and so forth.ssSecondly,manytypes could have been borrowed
from the other subjects in the genre of demon-painting, such as illustrationsof themes like
"Clearingout the Mountains"and "Chung K'ueib the Demon-Queller."s9
A few Type B compositions are not painted in pai-miaobut ratherin bright, even garish
colors. This group may be regardedas attempting to reconstructthe original from which the
presumed "Li Kung-lin" was copied, by adding colors to the outlines. Examples of this type
include a second scroll in the Freer Gallery, bearing a signaturepurportingto belong to Ch'iu
56 Wang Shih-chen, Yen-chou shan-jenssu-puhsii-kaoCS (reprinted Taipei, 1978), PP. 78I3-7815 (ch.171, pp. I 2a-I 3a); repeated
in P'ei-wen-chaishu-huap'uc (1708), ch.86, pp. 24a-25a. James Cahill, An Index of Early ChinesePaintersand Paintings,
(Berkeley, 1980), p.336, calls the Indianapolis scroll "genuine."
57 In a colophon on the Metropolitan scroll dated 1790.
ss See note 28 above.
59 For discussions of the subject "Clearing out the Mountains" see Chin Wei-no in Ku-kungpo-wu-yiianyiian-k'anc,1980,
no.3, pp. 19-22; Huang Miao-tzucv in ibid. pp.17-I8; Li Lin-ts'an in Ta-lu tsa-chihbw(Continent Magazine), Taipei,
vol. 26 no.II (June 15, 1963): 344-347; and Thomas Lawton, ChineseFigure Painting,(Washington, 1973), cat.no.37.
For the "Chung K'uei" theme see ibid., cat.no.35; Sherman E. Lee and Waikam Ho, ChineseArt underthe Mongols,
(Cleveland, 1968), cat.no.206; S.E.Lee, "The Lantern Night Excursion of Chung K'uei," Bulletin of the Cleveland
Museumof Art, vol.49 no.2 (Feb. 1962): 36-42; and Eight Dynastiesof ChinesePainting,(Cleveland, 1980), cat.no.91.
265

Ying (Figs. i i-i6);6o one signed "Ch'enHung-shoubb (I98-165 ) in the BritishMuseum;6I and
one attributedin its first colophon to Ch'ienHsiianbc (ca.1235-after 13o0), formerlyon examina-
tion at the British Museum.62 The most elaborateof this type is a scroll paintedin I665 by a
little known artistnamed Li Senbdfor Wu Hsing-tsobe,then prefect of Wu-hsi.63Li Sen added
auxiliaryfigures to each category in the cast of the Type B composition, as well as extra para-
phernalia.Colophons written for the scroll at the requestof Wu Hsing-tso suggest that Li Sen
used as his model a pai-miaoscroll by Li Kung-lin, adding colors to it.64 Thus it would seem
that the colored Type B group emerged in the mid-seventeenthcentury based on the mono-
chrome type, which as suggested above seems to have developed in the late sixteenth or
early seventeenthcentury.
The final variationon the theme of Hiriti's conversion to be discussedhere is embodied in
an undated scroll by Tao-chibf(164I-ca. 1720) in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.6s Because
of its fine brushwork and rich ink textures, Tao-chi's painting is already recognized as an
outstandingwork on artisticgrounds alone; however, the scroll has never been discussedin the
context of the iconographictraditionto which it belongs. Paintedin ink on paper,its similarity
to scrolls of Type B is immediately obvious; however, the work is more than just another
Type B version. The characterof the illustrationis entirely changed by Tao-chi's introduction
of a unifiedlandscapesetting; a screenof rocks, trees, and bramblesthrough which the demons
and other figures are seen. These landscapeelements, drawn in dry, charcoal-likeinklines in
tones ranging from scorchedblack to light grey, engage the viewer's attention more forcefully
than do the pale forms of the bizarre demons. Tao-chi has also reversed the compositional
sequence, so that in broad outline the illustrationfollows the order of Type A compositions.
Once again the Buddhaand his attendantsoccupy the front of the scroll, and the demon forces
extend leftward,diminishedin numberas well as in dramaticimpact. It is possible that Tao-chi
might have been influencedto change the compositionalorder as the result of seeing a Type A
scroll; for specific forms, however, he definitely relied more closely on a Type B pai-miao
version. In Tao-chi's hands, the subjectis elevatedfrom the artisticallyunpretentiousmilieu of
popular illustration and is given the trappings of serious art. In this process, however, the
compelling narrativequality characteristicof other renditions of the theme is sacrificed.This
transformationmarksthe final stage in the evolution of the "Raisingthe Alms-bowl" theme in
Chinese painting.
To conclude, we may briefly summarizethe significant steps in the development of this
theme. The initial conception of "Raisingthe Alms-bowl" as a representationof Hdritifocused
and elaboratedupon a biographicaldetail with narrativepotential, giving expression to the
60 Unpublished; acc.no.o9.4oo.
61 Unpublished; acc.no. 189.
62 Roderick Whitfield generously provided me with slides of this scroll, which is unpublished.
63 The scroll, which belongs to Osawa Yasuz6 of Toyama City, is discussed and fully reproduced by Yonezawa (see note 22
above).
64 Colophon by Yen Sheng-sunx, dated 1666; see Yonezawa, ibid. p. 2, third photograph.
65 Acc.no. 56.1151 ; see Kojir6 Tomita and Hsien-chi Tseng, eds., Portfolioof ChinesePaintingsin the Museum,vol. z:
Yiian
to Ch'ingPeriods,(Boston, 1961), pls. 124-125; Richard Edwards, ThePaintingof Tao-chi,(Ann Arbor, 1967), cat.no.4;
and Shen and MarilynFu, Studiesin Connoisseurship,(Princeton, 1973), p.176. The work is dateableto circa 1683/1684 on
the basis of the accompanying colophon, thus placing it in Tao-chi's Nanking period.
266

Chineselove of story-telling.In the Type A illustrations,the religious affiliationof the subjectis
clear, for the scrolls open with the depiction of a beatific assembly of deities and disciples
around the seated Buddha. With the reversalof the compositionalorder in the Type B group,
the emphasis shifts to the long paradeof demons and their outlandish forms, somewhat sub-
merging the religious concept. The addition of many auxiliaryfiguresalso obscuresthe original
theme of confrontation between Hdriti and the Buddha. These developments are given legi-
timacy by association with the name of Li Kung-lin, and by the assertion that even Li was
copying something older. The subsequent interest in recreatingthis earlier prototype led to
the addition of colors to the pai-miao"skeleton." These typologies of illustration,once created,
were perpetuatedsimultaneouslythereafter,largelyby undistinguishedpainterstrying to satisfy
uninformed tastes. The exuberantvulgarity of many of the illustrationsbears witness to this
popularmilieu. Tao-chi's treatmentof the theme brought it momentarilyinto the elite tradition
of painting and to some degree restored its religious tone. However, there was no further
development in this direction, perhaps because it led away from narrativeillustration, and
Tao-chi's painting thus representsthe endpoint in the evolutionaryscheme.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Raoul Birnbaumfor the many patient hours he spent helping me
to become familiar with Buddhist texts and reference works during the time that he was a
ResearchFellow at the MetropolitanMuseum. I am also grateful to Dr.Roderick Whitfieldof
the British Museumfor personallytaking slides for me of the scrolls in that institution.
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colors on paper; NVa/jonalPalace Mnsenm, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. Reproduced from Ar/i bus Asiae, vol. 33 (1971i), pl.44
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Fig. 2 Anon. Japan, ca. A.D. 1350, iconographic drawings of the goddess H~iriti. Ink and colors on paper.
Private Collection on loan to the Fogg Art Mllsellm, Cambridge, Mass.

Fig. 4 MetropolitanMuseumscroll; second detail: the Buddha facing the vanguard of demons

Fig. 3 Anon., fourteenth century? "Raising the Alms-bowl: the Conversion of Hdriti."
Ink, colors, and gold on paper. TheMetropolitanMuseumof Art, New York (Purchase, 1927, The Rogers Fund).
First detail: the Buddha's company

Fig. 6 MetropolitanMuseumscroll; fourth detail: the demon army

Fig. 5 MetropolitanMuseumscroll; third detail: Hdriti and the struggle to release her baby

Fig. 7 MetropolitanMuseumscroll; final detail: the demon army

Fig. 8 Wang Chen-p'eng (Yiian dynasty), attributed to. "Raising the Alms-bowl." Ink on paper.
IndianapolisMuseumof Art, Indiana (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Lilly); first third

Fig. Io IndianapolisMuseumscroll; final third

Fig. 9 IndianapolisMuseumscroll; second third

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Fig. II Ch'iu Ying, after. "Raising the Alms-bowl."
Ink and colors on silk. Freer Galleryof Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. First detail
Fig. I3 Freer Gallery"Ch'iu Ying". Third detail
Fig. 15 Freer Gallery"Ch'iu Ying". Fifth detail

Fig. 17 Anon., ninth century, banner from Tun-huang, "Mdra'sAttack."
Ink and colors on silk. Muse'eGuimet,Paris. Detail of army of demons

Fig. 18 Chao Kung-yu (late T'ang), old attribution. "Raising the Alms-bowl." Ink and colors on silk.
TheBritish Museum.Detail, Buddha and disciples

Fig. 19 BritishMuseum"Chao Kung-yu." Detail, demon

Fig. 20o Li Kung-lin, after. "Raising the Alms-bowl." Ink on paper.
DenverArt Museum,Colorado (Gift of H.M. Sarkisian).Detail from procession of demons

Fig. 22 Unidentified artist, surnamed Kao. "Raising the Alms-bowl." Ink and slight color on paper.
The British Museum.Detail from procession of demons
Fig. zi DenverMuseumscroll; detail fr om procession of demons


Representations of Hariti, The Mother of Demons, and The Theme of Raising The Alms-Bowl in Chinese Painting

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Representations of Hāritī, the Mother of Demons, and the Theme of "Raising the Alms-Bowl"

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