Research On The Shui-Lu Paintings Of Min-Le

The Shuilu paintings are religious paintings, they were used during the Buddhist and Taoist Shuilu Ceremony (Fahui,法会)since the Song and Yuan period, the texts which were drawn were based on Shuilu Texts (Yiwen,仪文),including southern and northern parts. The former was mainly spread in the south China except historical Sichuan area, whose text is Fajie Shengfan Shuilu Shenghui Xiuzhai Yigui (法界圣凡水陆圣会修齐仪轨)；While the latter was spread in the north China, whose text is Tiandi Mingyang Shuilu Yiwen(天地冥阳水陆仪文).Minle (happily people) county is located in the center of Hexi Corridor, a small county of Gansu Province, the famous road Da-dou-ba valley(大斗拔榖,another name is Bian-du-kou, nowadays), crossed the Qilian mountain leading to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The place had always been battleground many times during the historical period. There are 116 Shuilu paintings collected in Minle county museum, which were drawn during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Formerly, they were used in the Amitabha (Mituo,弥陀)temple, the most famous temple in flood castle (Hongshui-Bao,洪水堡).The paintings were riched in the subjects, including the Buddhism Buddhas, Avalokitesvara (Guanyin,观音),Arhat (Luohan,罗汉),Tian-long-ba-bu(天龙八部),and so on; Taoism gods, such as Three Clean Gods (Sanqing,三清),Four Bucket Gods (Siyu,四御),Twenty-eight Stars Gods (Erba Xingxiu,二八星宿)；Folk beliefs in Ten Hell Gods (Shidian Yanwang,十殿阎王),City Guard (Chenghuang,城隍).These paintings are known by the scholars recently, and could do more research on them.One of these paintings named painting of the Shuilu Ceremony’origin (Shuilu yuanqi tu,水陆缘起图),the text Origin of article on Shuilu Ceremony on which is written by the gold-water. When compared with the Text of the Origin of the Shuilu Ceremony (Shuilu yuanqi wen,水陆缘起文), a part of the Tiandi Mingyang Shuilu Yiwen(天地冥阳水陆仪文)newly founded by doctor Dai Xiaoyun in the National Library of China, we found they are almost the same. So these paintings might the Northern Shuilu images, drawn revised the Northern Shuilu Ceremony’(北水陆法会)text Tiandi Mingyang Shuilu Yiwen (天地冥阳水陆仪文)In addition, its text, image and the composition are almost the same when compared with the same topic painting collected in the Beijing Capital Museum, China, used by the royal in Ming Dynasty. From that we know both of the two works were made by the royal painter in Ming Dynasty, or perhaps they share the same version at least. What’s more, maybe there are some relationships with the Tangut-script Merciful Repentence Ritual (Cibei Daochang Chanzuifa,慈悲道埸忏罪法)dating back to 1302 of Yuan Dynasty, discovered in Lingwu((?)武), Ningxia, in 1917, and collected in the National Library of China from then on. These sutras’ publication were supervised and financed by a Tibetan Buddhist monk named Guan Zhuba, so the frontispiece refers to his fundamental Sakya Temple image, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Tibet, China. Since the Tibetan frontispiece was revised by the local artisan, we cannot find its original Tibetan style mostly.What’s more, the two pieces of painting about karma we research on, each has a group of eight images, for having an abortion (Duotai Luoyun,堕胎落孕),dying in a strange land (Kesi Taxiang,客死他乡),suffering hunger and cold (Yanhan Dongnei,严�'冻馁),spending in turmoil of war (Shizhi Daobing,时值刀兵),going to die in prison lonely (Yousi Jianlao,幽死监牢), and so on. For example, through a review of the official history books, local chronicles, literary, notes, diary and the other texts, we know that these paintings, especially, the having an abortion (Duotai Luoyun,堕胎落孕),dying in a strange land (Kesi Taxiang,客死他乡)reflect the truth of the social problems in history.In addition, there is a painting named face burning ghost king (Mianran Guiwang,面燃鬼王)painting, whose upper is the image that face burning ghost king donates the food to help the devils of the hell in the field, and the lower is the Note of remounting in the July, Tongzhi(同治)Emperor’eleventh year in Qing Dynasty. Perhaps, it is related to the local people hosted the ceremony to help the death to rebirth and bless to the future after the Shan-Gan Hui uprising (Shan’gan Huimin Qiyi,陕甘回民起义)war during the Tongzhi Emperor period.