Caption

Kui Xing — the god of literature. Graphic artist Ma Dezhao (fl. ca. 1870). Depicted as a man of rather repulsive appearance, but lively and vigorous, with a calligraphy brush in his hand. His right foot rests on the character ao (?) — a giant turtle. The figure reaches with its arm to the character 'Dou' (the Great Bear constellation); Kuixing is the first star of this constellation. The deity rests its foot on the character ao, a symbol of strength. Ma Dezhao's composition was carved in stone during the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1862–1874); it is located in the Stele Forest in Xi'an. Inscriptions: ???????? (Zhengxin, xiushen, keji, fuli — 'Purify the mind, cultivate self-improvement, overcome oneself, return to the rules of etiquette'). Early 20th century, China, Xi'an. Print. Height 124.5 cm; width 55.4 cm.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A33_408

License type

Rights managed

Available size

48.6Mb (10.8Mb) / 9.4in x 20.0in / 2829 x 6000 (300dpi)

Keywords

Kui Xing god literature Graphic artist Ma Dezhao fl ca 1870 Depicted man repulsive appearance lively vigorous calligraphy brush hand right foot rests character ao giant turtle figure reaches arm character Dou Great Bear constellation Kuixing first star constellation deity rests symbol strength Ma Dezhao's composition was carved stone Tongzhi era Qing Dynasty 1862–1874 located Stele Forest Xi Inscriptions ?? Zhengxin xiushen keji fuli Purify mind cultivate self-improvement overcome oneself return rules etiquette Early 20th century China Print Height 124.5 cm width 55.4 cm tall vertical artwork showing high-contrast black background large abstract white brushlike shapes arranged down center slightly sides shapes suggesting fluid gestural strokes forming rounded blobs narrow vertical white strokes run near top middle bottom group smaller white marks cluster side background textured visible grain subtle folds seam lines palette black white shades gray.