Item number: P2

Year: circa AD 684-805

Material: Kaolinite

Size: 49 x 21 x 21 cm

Weight: 3.6 kg

Provenance: Robert Ricketts 2025

This object is one of a pair of funerary Lokapala (天王) figurines, likely representing Dhritarashtra (持國天王).

The hair is gathered in a precious hair bun (寶髻) resembling a crown, which is a common hairstyle in Buddhist statuary. The figure wears an upturned collar and Mingguang (明光) armour without shoulder defences; the breastplates are oval, while the abdominal protection is circular, complemented by a complete leather belt. Beneath the skirt armour, a knee-length underskirt is visible, and the figure stands upon a pedestal of indeterminate form. Contemporary pedestals often depicted recumbent animals such as oxen and sheep or crouching demons. The face is slightly rounded with a broad nose and large eyes, featuring a moustache painted in black ink with a serious expression, and the sleeves flow elegantly. The right hand is clenched in a fist facing the ground, while the left hand is held open with the thumb and middle finger lightly touching. It is possible that the figure represents Dhritarashtra (持國天王) originally holding a precious sword in the right hand with the left hand resting on the hilt, though the original implements are now lost. The body is composed of white earthenware decorated with red pigment. The relative simplicity suggests either that other pigments have exfoliated or that the figurine originates from the Mid to Late Tang (唐) when funerary goods were more modest.

Spirit-suppressing objects intended to exorcise demons and protect the deceased and their souls from disturbance are also known as spirit-suppressing divine objects due to their association with supernatural powers. During the Sui (隋) dynasty, these were primarily zoomorphic. In the Early Tang (唐), they began to appear alongside warrior figurines. By the late High Tang (唐), particularly during the reign of Wu Zetian (武則天), warrior figurines were transformed into Lokapala (天王) figurines, likely under Buddhist influence, and were paired with spirit-suppressing divine beasts. In the Sui (隋) and Tang (唐) periods, divine beasts were typically placed at the front of the tomb entrance on both sides of the path, followed by spirit-suppressing figurines to deter malevolent spirits and guard the tomb occupant in the chamber behind. These were usually deployed in one or two pairs, reflecting the wealth and status of the deceased.

Since the High Tang (唐), the custom of lavish burials led to competitive extravagance. To curb this practice, Confucian officials, primarily from the Censorate (御史台), promulgated Funeral Decrees (喪葬令) that established a ritual system based on official rank, including Articles on Funerary Goods (諸明器條) which restricted the use of various grave goods. The Tongdian (通典), compiled during the Kaiyuan (開元) era (AD 713–741), records specific provisions: those of the third rank and above were permitted ninety items; the fifth rank and above, sixty; and the ninth rank and above, forty. Figures belonging to the category of Four Spirits (四神), camels, horses, and humans were not to exceed one chi (尺), approximately 31 centimetres today. Musicians and ceremonial guards were limited to seven inches. Women figurines were capped at thirty individuals of eight inches in height; models of gardens and houses at five square feet; and servants at twenty individuals of four inches. For the fifth rank and above, musicians and attendants were limited to twenty-five people of seven and a half inches, with sixteen servants of three inches. For the sixth rank and below, musicians and attendants were capped at twenty people of seven inches, and twelve servants of two inches. As Lokapala (天王) figurines belonged to the category of Four Spirits (四神) and humans, they were restricted to one chi (尺). However, the periodic re-issuance of strict edicts followed by occasional relaxations suggests that violations of these regulations were frequent. By the sixth year of the Yuanhe (元和) era (AD 811) under Emperor Xianzong, limits were relaxed: for the third rank and above, ninety funerary goods including the Four Spirits (四神) and the Twelve Horary Animals were allowed, not exceeding two feet and five inches, while other figures were not to exceed one foot. For the fifth rank and above, sixty items were permitted, and for the ninth rank and above, forty items were allowed, using earthenware or wood, where the Four Spirits (四神) were not to exceed one foot and other figures seven inches. Scholars note that the height of the pedestals supporting divine beasts and figures may not have been included in these ritual limitations.

Following the introduction of Buddhism during the Yongping era of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han (漢), the eminent monk Kumarajiva (鳩摩羅什) of the Wei and Jin periods translated Buddhist scriptures, establishing the theoretical framework for Han Buddhism. The Northern and Southern Dynasties saw a regional divergence: the Northern dynasties’ imperial houses oversaw the carving of the Yungang (雲岡) and Longmen (龍門) Grottoes, fusing Buddhist imagery with sovereign power, while Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang (梁) four times offered himself to the Tongtai Monastery and established the indigenous regulation of monastic vegetarianism. Eventually, Emperor Wen of the Sui (隋) ordered the restoration of sites damaged during the Northern Zhou persecution during the Kaihuang era and established the Daxingshan (大興善) Monastery in Chang’an. In the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan era (AD 645), Xuanzang (玄奘) returned from India with over six hundred Sanskrit texts and translated over one thousand three hundred volumes of scriptures, such as the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, at the Great Ci’en (慈恩) Monastery in Chang’an, providing the theoretical foundation for sectarian development. During the reign of Wu Zetian (武則天), religion was further instrumentalised as a tool of governance; utilising the Great Cloud Sutra, she proclaimed herself the incarnation of Maitreya, established Great Cloud Monasteries across the prefectures, and funded the colossal seventeen-metre Vairocana Buddha at the Fengxian Temple in the Longmen (龍門) Grottoes. Subsequently, the Esoteric master Amoghavajra (不空) utilised rituals based on the Humane Kings Sutra during the early Tianbao era to portray the northern Vaisravana (毗沙門天王), also known as Duowen Tianwang (多聞天王), as a martial deity who repelled enemy forces at Anxi. Due to government promotion, Lokapala (天王) figurines were frequently modelled after Duowen Tianwang (多聞天王) thereafter. Imperial devotion reached its zenith in the fourteenth year of the Xiantong era (AD 873) when the Buddha’s finger bone relic from the Famen (法門) Monastery was welcomed into Chang’an, with Emperor Yizong offering extremely ornate eight-layered precious caskets and gold and silver wares. However, the tax-exempt status of monks and the excessive expansion of monastic estates eventually triggered an economic crisis, leading Emperor Wuzong in the fifth year of the Huichang (會昌) era (AD 845) to order the confiscation of temple lands and the forced laicisation of two hundred and sixty thousand monastics. A vast quantity of bronze Buddha statues was melted down to cast Kaiyuan Tongbao (開元通寶) coins, subsequently known as Huichang Kaiyuan (會昌開元) coins.

物件編號: P2

年代: 約公元 684-805 年

材料: 白陶

尺寸: 49 x 21 x 21 cm

重量: 3.6 kg

來源: 羅伯特·里基茨 2025

這是一對陪葬的天王俑之一，可能為持國天王像。

陶俑頭綰寶髻，頭髮似冠。寶髻為佛教人物雕塑常見的髮型之一。護領上折，身著明光鎧，無披膊，胸前圓護呈橢圓形，腹護呈圓形，革帶齊備，腰下裙甲間可見膝裙，足蹬高腰靴，足下踩踏台座。台座形制不明，但同時期的台座多為牛、羊等臥獸，或是蹲伏鬼怪的形狀。陶俑臉龐微圓，闊鼻大眼，墨繪八字胡須，神情嚴肅。袖口飄逸。右手握拳，拳心朝地，左手虛張，拇指與中指輕捻。可能為右手執寶刀，左手扶刀首的持國天王像，原持物或已亡佚。陶俑陶胎為白陶，間飾紅彩。若非其他顏色較易剝落，便是此像出自明器形制較為簡略的中、晚唐。

古代為死者及其亡魂驅鬼闢邪，使之免遭侵擾的鎮墓之物，由於多與某種超自然力量相關，也被稱為鎮墓神物。鎮墓神物於隋時多為獸型，至初唐時始與武士俑伴出，盛唐晚期，至武則天時期，可能受佛教影響，武士俑改為天王俑，與鎮墓神獸伴出。隋唐時期，鎮墓獸多迎門列於墓門最前，位於墓道兩側，其後為鎮墓俑，用以鎮懾鬼魅，守護身後墓室中墓主。鎮墓獸及鎮墓俑通常為各一對或各兩對，反映墓主的財富或地位。

由於盛唐以來，厚葬成俗，競相攀比，已御史台為主的儒家官員，為了遏制厚葬陋習，頒布《喪葬令》，規定了依官品而分等級的禮制，其中《諸明器條》限制了各類隨葬品的使用。開元年間(公元713-741年)的《通典》，紀載了具體的條文：「三品以上九十事，五品以上六十事，九品以上四十事。四神駝馬及人不得尺餘，音樂鹵簿不過七寸。女子等不過三十人，長八寸；園宅方五尺，奴婢等不過二十人，長四寸。五品以上，音聲僕從二十五人，長七寸五分，奴婢十六人，長三寸。六品以下，音聲僕從二十人，長七寸；奴婢十二人，長二寸。」天王俑應歸於「四神駝馬及人」類，因此「不得尺餘」，即不得超過依唐尺，約今31公分。但從此後時而重申嚴令，時而略為弛禁來看，或許逾制的情況所在多有。至憲宗元和六年(公元811年)，已放寬至「三品已上，明器九十事，四神十二時在內，不得過二尺五寸，餘人物並不得過一尺。五品已上，明器六十事，四神十二時在內。……九品已上，明器四十事，四神十二時在內明器並使瓦木為之，四神不得過一尺，餘人物等不得過七寸。」且按學者統計，承托神獸、人物的台座，其高度可能並未計入禮制的限制。

佛教於東漢明帝永平年間傳入後，魏晉時期的名僧鳩摩羅什翻譯佛經，為漢傳佛教奠定理論骨架。南北朝時期呈現南北分歧，北朝皇室主導開鑿雲岡與龍門石窟，將佛像與王權結合，而南朝梁武帝則四度捨身同泰寺，並確立僧侶吃素的本土規範。最終，隋文帝於開皇年間下令修復北周法難後的毀損，並在長安廣設大興善寺。貞觀十九年(公元645年)，玄奘自印度帶回六百餘部梵典並在長安大慈恩寺譯出《大般若經》等一千三百餘卷經論，奠定了宗派發展的理論基礎；武則天時期進一步將宗教轉化為統治工具，藉《大雲經》宣稱彌勒下生，於全國各州廣建大雲寺，並斥巨資開鑿龍門石窟奉先寺高達十七公尺的盧舍那大佛。隨後，密教大師不空於天寶初年透過修持《仁王經》法事，將北方毗沙門天王(即北方多聞天王)塑造成擊退安西敵軍的軍神，促使唐玄宗頒令於全國軍營與城樓安置天王像。由於政府的推廣，此後天王俑也常以多聞天王為造型。皇室的崇拜在咸通十四年(公元873年)迎請法門寺佛骨入長安時達到頂點，唐懿宗動用極其華麗的八重寶函與金銀器進行供養；然而，僧侶免稅與寺院地產的過度擴張最終引發經濟危機，導致會昌五年(公元845年)唐武宗下令沒收寺院田產、強制二十六萬僧尼還俗，並將大量銅製佛像熔鑄成「開元通寶」錢幣，後稱「會昌開元」。