Medieval Buddhist of the Day

[Twitter, 6/11/19] Medieval Buddhists of the day: Qian’er Shenmeng 鉗耳神猛 and his aunt 姑, Qian’er Nüti 鉗耳女体. Shenmeng and his family sponsored this four-sided stele in honor of his recently deceased aunt in 584, during the Sui dynasty. It’s in the collection of the Beilin museum in Xi’an.

It’s unusual (though not unheard-of) for a nephew to sponsor a monument for an aunt. Relationships of the nuclear family (parents, children, siblings) are far more common. But this monument has aunts, nephews, and other second-degree relatives.

Maybe the Qian’er family was especially close, but I prefer to think of Qian’er Nüti (whose personal name, by the way, means “Female Form,” as in “born in a female form, but hey, form is an impermanent illusion”) as the cool aunt. Maybe she was the one who connected with and supported her nephew and taught him a few things, and that explains his memorial. Here she is, modestly concealed in her oxcart like a proper Sui lady. The face you see belongs to a groom leading the ox.