Medieval Buddhist of the Day

[Twitter, 8/28/19] Medieval Buddhists of the Day: two women who dedicated a small image in the Huoshao Cave 火燒洞 at Longmen in 522. They write: 公孫合妻，公孫迴姬，為亡父母。。。造無量壽佛一軀 “The wife of Gongsun He and the concubine of Gongsun Hui dedicated an image of Amitayus in honor of their deceased parents.”

It’s another example of the relationships between women in polygynous households. Gongsun He & Gongsun Hui sound like brothers, or at least cousins in the same generation. Their wife and concubine would certainly have known each other. What I wonder about is their relationship to each other. Knowing that some large families were tied to each other through multiple marriage alliances, it’s possible that they were sisters, joining together to commemorate their (shared) parents. But it’s also possible that they came to know each other as a result of becoming members of the Gongsun family by marriage. Because we don’t know their names, this is hard to resolve any further. But it’s food for thought nonetheless.