Xiaoleiyin Temple Item Number: 946/49 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Rolled painting, that was also partly printed, on paper. The image depicts a scene with ten figures. There is a figure with a black stick in one hand, who is looking up at a male figure in the sky surrounded by a white and orange-pink cloud; a figure carrying two bundles hung from a stick; a human-like figure with a grey animal head; a figure with a black, yellow and red headdress, who is greeting four bald figures with their hands raised; and a bearded figure standing at the entrance of a temple. Wooden scroll bars at ends.

History Of Use

Xiaoleiyin Temple (小雷音寺). This picture would usually be displayed during the Chinese Spring Festival (春节) or Lunar New Year. Such pictures are thus known as nianhua (年画, new year pictures). Likely made in the late 19th or early 20th century, in a traditional Mianzhu (绵竹) painting and printing workshop in Sichuan province (四川).

Iconographic Meaning

The image depicts a scene of entering the Xiaoleiyin Temple (小雷音寺) from the "Journey to the West" (西游记), chapter 65–66 where the Monkey King (孙悟空) recognizes the evil spirit.

Item History

What

Name
Xiaoleiyin Temple
Identification Number
946/49
Type of Item
painting
Overall
height 78.5 cm, width 60.5 cm

Who

Culture
Chinese
Previous Owner
Edith Sibley, D. H. Reed, G. A. Reed and T. Gordon Reed
Received from
D. H. Reed (Donor), G. A. Reed (Donor) and T. Gordon Reed (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
Mianzhu, Sichuan, China

When

Creation Date
before 1926
Collection Date
between 1906 and 1926
Ownership Date
before February 16, 1984
Acquisition Date
on February 16, 1984

Other

Item Classes
paintings; works on paper
Condition
fair
Accession Number
0946/0049