Laojun Portrait Stele, Xuanmiao Guan, Suzhou苏州玄妙观老君像碑（四绝碑）
- Type
- Steles and Inscriptions
- Location
- China · Jiangsu · Gusu District, Suzhou · West pillar (west wall) of the Sanqing Hall, Xuanmiao Temple, Guanqian Street
- Coordinates
- 31.3142, 120.6222 Map ↗
- First built
- Carved in the 1st year of the Baoqing era, Southern Song (1225) · Traditionally the image was painted by the Tang artist Wu Daozi, its eulogy composed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and its calligraphy written by Yan Zhenqing, recarved by the Song engraver Zhang Yundi, hence the name "Stele of Four Perfections"; the attribution of the "three perfections" is a traditional claim that cannot be independently verified.
- Heritage status
- Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, 2nd group (1982, Sanqing Hall, Xuanmiao Temple)
Overview
The Laojun Portrait Stele on the west pillar of the Sanqing Hall at Xuanmiao Temple, Suzhou, was carved in the first year of the Baoqing era of the Southern Song (1225); the stele stands 1.8 meters tall and 0.91 meters wide. According to traditional records, the image was painted by the Tang artist Wu Daozi, its eulogy composed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and its calligraphy written by Yan Zhenqing, and the whole was copied and carved by the Song engraver Zhang Yundi — combining the excellences of painting, eulogy, calligraphy and carving, it is therefore known as the "Stele of Four Perfections" and is said to be one of only two surviving steles bearing an image of Laozi in China. It should be noted that the attribution of the "three perfections" to Wu Daozi, Emperor Xuanzong and Yan Zhenqing is a traditional claim whose authorship cannot be independently verified; the stele itself is in fact a Song-dynasty recarving of a famous Tang-dynasty work, and its value lies in preserving the sketch tradition of the Tang-dynasty iconography of Laojun. Xuanmiao Temple was founded in the second year of the Xianning era of the Western Jin (276), originally named Zhenqing Daoist Cloister; it was renamed Kaiyuan Palace under the Tang, and took its present name, Xuanmiao Temple, in the first year of the Yuanzhen era of the Yuan (1295). The Sanqing Hall was rebuilt in the sixth year of the Chunxi era of the Southern Song (1179), spanning nine bays and 45 meters in width and six bays and 25 meters in depth, with a floor area of 1,100 square meters; it was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in the second such national batch in 1982 (No. 2-22). See the separate entry for the parent temple, "Xuanmiao Temple, Suzhou."
Highlights
- The "Stele of Four Perfections": painting, eulogy, calligraphy and carving
- Recarved in the first year of the Baoqing era of the Southern Song (1225)
- One of only two surviving steles bearing an image of Laozi in China
- Preserves the sketch tradition of Tang-dynasty Laojun iconography