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The T’ang Dynasty was an era of
unrivalled wealth and luxury. The
country was successfully reunified and
the borders were expanded, pushing
Chinese influence into new lands.
Confucianism became a semi-religious
instrument of the state; yet Buddhism
continued to flourish, spreading into
Korea and Japan. The arts reached new
levels of sophistication. Poetry and
literature flourished under the
enlightened rulers. The Silk Road
brought fortunes into China. Precious
treasures were imported on the backs of
camels from far away lands and bartered
for Chinese silk, medicinal herbs, and
pungent spices. T’ang China was a
multicultural empire where foreign
merchants from across Central Asia and
the Middle East settled in the urban
centers, foremost among them the
thriving capital of Chang’an (modern
X’ian), a bustling cosmopolitan center
of over two million inhabitants.
Foreign traders lived next to native
artisans and both thrived. New ideas
and exotic artistic forms followed
alongside. The T’ang Dynasty was a
cultural renaissance where many of the
forms and objects we now associate with
China were first created. Moreover,
this period represents one of the
greatest cultural outpourings in human
history.
During the T’ang Dynasty, sculptural
effigies of domesticated animals were
often interred in the tombs of nobility
and elite members of the social
hierarchy. Created in all media, these
sculptures accompanied the spirit of the
deceased into the afterlife. While
similar examples exist, most were found
harnessed to wagons and carts and were
meant to function as beasts of burden.
However, this sculpture was discovered
buried with other domesticated animals,
suggesting that this zebu bull served as
nourishment. Besides it function, this
sculpture is also remarkable for its
exquisite state of preservation with
much of its original yellow pigment
still intact. Such delicate decoration
rarely survives the ravages of time and
the stresses of excavation. Some of the
original red pigment that also once
adorned the animal is also visible on
its nose. During the T’ang Dynasty, the
Chinese believed that the afterlife was
a continuation of our earthly existence.
Thus, logically, as we require food to
nourish our bodies on earth, so too will
we require food to nourish our souls in
the afterlife. Created to serve as food
for the afterlife, this work is more
than a mere sculpture; it is a gorgeous
memorial to the religious and
philosophical beliefs of the T’ang
Dynasty. This bull effigy has served
its eternal purpose well. Today, it
continues to nourish our souls with its
beauty and grace.
- (H.945)
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