Lot Essay
At the time this stele was published by Sirèn, op.cit., most of the inscription was still intact and bore the date Zheng Guang, 2nd year, corresponding to 521.
Both Sirèn and J. M. James, op.cit., identify the two discs as the sun and the moon. James further identifying the sun on the right with birds in flight, and the moon on the left carved with a toad: both images as seen from above. The author goes on to note that the combined motifs of the sun, moon and dragons appeared frequently in later Han funerary art and 'are related to the journey of the soul heavenward'. The object held by the deity, sometimes described as a flywhisk, combined with the type of robe and hat (a type worn by officials), the two discs, the entwined dragons and the fact that the inscription 'mentions only an image made of stone', lead to the conclusion that this is a Daoist and not a Buddhist stele. Based on this James assumes that the image is that of the deified Lao Zi as Laojun or Taishang Laojun rather than the Buddha.
Both Sirèn and J. M. James, op.cit., identify the two discs as the sun and the moon. James further identifying the sun on the right with birds in flight, and the moon on the left carved with a toad: both images as seen from above. The author goes on to note that the combined motifs of the sun, moon and dragons appeared frequently in later Han funerary art and 'are related to the journey of the soul heavenward'. The object held by the deity, sometimes described as a flywhisk, combined with the type of robe and hat (a type worn by officials), the two discs, the entwined dragons and the fact that the inscription 'mentions only an image made of stone', lead to the conclusion that this is a Daoist and not a Buddhist stele. Based on this James assumes that the image is that of the deified Lao Zi as Laojun or Taishang Laojun rather than the Buddha.