Manjusri
普賢菩薩圖
Late Tang or early Five Dynasties, late 9th –early 10th century A.D.
Ink and colours on silk
H. 218.7 cm, W. 114.8 cm
British Museum, Stein painting34. Ch. xxxvii. 005
The paintings shown in Pls. 13 and 14 form a matching pair, unique among the silk paintings of the stein collection, but clearly intended to serve the same purpose as similar wall paintings showing the two Bodhisattvas, one on either side of a central niche with Sakyamuni, or on either side of the doorway on the entrance wall, in several of the caves at Dunhuang. One feature that remains unexplained, however, is the curved upper border of the two paintings (Pls. 13-2, 14-1). It suggests that they were hung in a cave-temple with barrel-vaulted roof, but no such cave exists at dunhuang itself. Such semi-circular vaults are of course seen in shrines at other central Asian sites such as Bezeklik and Kucha. Nevertheless, in style and composition the two Bodhisattva paintings are readily comparable with wall paintings at Dunhuang, for example, Cave 36 (Dunhuang bihua, Pl. 160), and especially at Yulin, Cave 16 (Lo Archive, no. 2966).
Both Bodhisattvas are shown riding their respective vehicles, the white elephant and the lion, each with a black keeper who occupies a prominent foreground position. In fact the elephant and the lion themselves are somewhat difficult to make out, lost among the wealth of decorative detail so that only their heads and a part of their hind flanks emerge. This is in sharp contrast with the paintings dated A. D. 836 and A.D. 864 (Vol. 1, Pls. 16, 23), where the two animals are depicted standing almost free.
The retinues of the two Bodhisattvas are very similar. The heads of a number of attendant Bodhisattvas emerge beyond the borders of the aureoles, together with three red-faced Dharmapalas in each painting. In the foreground corners, on the left and right respectively, are two standing Bodhisattvas, each holding a fan and with their voluminous sleeves supported by smaller attendants, very much in the fashion of Chinese and other rulers in the audiences of the famous debate between Manjusri and Vimalskirti (Vol. 1, Pl. 20). In front and leading the procession are musicians ,better preserved on Samantabhadra’s side, where they play a bili 篳篥 (double-reed flute) and a sheng 笙 (mouth organ )(Pl. 13-3). The whole of each assembly is seen advancing towards the centre, as evidenced by the swaying of the canopies above the main figures. Samantabhadra’s appearance corresponds with the chapter on Samantabhadra in the Lotus Sutra (Taisho Daizokyo, vol. 9, no. 262, p. 61a), where he is described as coming from the east accompanied by many Bodhisattvas, musicians, and other beings in order to hear Sakyamuni preach at the Vulture Peak.
Turning to the style and execution of the two paintings, we may first of all see that much of the surface pigment has been lost, so that the colours are less intense than originally painted and the ink lines of the preparatory drawing are revealed, Especially in details such as the faces, there are quite substantial changes between the original outlines and the final colouring and finishing touches. Prominent features of both paintings are the decorative patterns formed by the aureoles, and the slightly aloof stance of many of the figures, stiffly leaning backwards. Close parallels can be seen in Cave 16 at Yulin (Lo Archive, no 2966) and Cave 36 at Dunhuang (Dunhuang bihua, Pl. 160). The latter is said to date from the middle Tang, that is, the period of Tibetan control (A.D. 781-847), but a slightly later date seems possible in view of this stiffness, and facial details such as the eyelids, drawn with an almost straight line, and the mouth, small with a dividing line ending in downturned hooks.
唐代末期～五代初期，9世紀末～10世紀初
絹本設色
高218.7釐米 寬114.8釐米
英国博物館,斯坦因繪畫34.Ch.xxxvii.005
圖13和14中所介紹的一對圖，在斯坦因收集的絹繪中，是無其他例子的特殊作品，而在敦煌石窟中，在深牆中央的佛龕左右或入口處左右兩邊都可見幾例描繪與此畫相似的二菩薩圖，顯然其製作與壁畫有著相同的目的。不過沒有任何說明文，是因這兩個圖上部的鑲邊是彎曲所致这一点（參照圖13－2，14－1），說明這兩個圖可能是懸在拱形藻井上的，但敦煌并沒有這樣藻井的石窟，藻井只見于伯孜克里克和庫車等中亞其他窟寺遺迹中。然而，在風格和構圖上，這些圖卻顯然與敦煌第36窟的壁畫（參照《敦煌壁畫》圖版160），特別是榆林窟第16圖的壁畫（參照羅寄梅No.2966）等很相似。
兩菩薩各自乘坐白象和獅子，禦手黑人少年在前面被畫得很大。象和獅子在各式各樣的裝飾中，只露出頭和側腹的一部分，很難辨別。有吐蕃佔領時期的丙辰年（836年）和咸通五年（864年）紀年的作品（參照第1卷圖16、23）中能見到大象和獅子的全身，與此形成鮮明的對比。
兩圖侍從的描繪非常相似。隨行菩薩的頭部大多從頭光的內區越到外區，兩圖中同樣的描繪還可見有三身的紅色臉龐的天王像。前景的左右角各站一身手持團扇的菩薩，矮小的侍者托著他肥大的衣袖。這在集聚在中國聽文殊和維摩的著名辯论的其他國家的統治者的隊伍（參照第1卷圖20）中也有相似的情景。在隊伍前面，兩圖均繪有樂人（參照圖13－3），普賢菩薩圖的保存較好，他們彈奏著篳篥和笙。從中尊上方隨風起伏的華蓋看，像是每個群體都向中央行進。普賢菩薩的出現是《法華經·普賢勸發品》（參照《大正大藏經》第9卷No.262，61頁上段）中說的，那裏說普賢菩薩是帶領菩薩和樂人等衆多隨從，從東方前來靈鷲山聽釋迦說法的。
再看風格和繪法，首先是顔料的脫落嚴重，失去了當時華麗色彩的同時，浮現出了底稿的墨線。特別是臉部等的細部描繪，可發現底稿線和完成時的勾勒線完全不一致。其它可舉出的兩圖共通的顯著表現，还有各種文樣的背光在兩圖中分佈在大致對應的位置，諸尊間均留有小間隔，回頭向後的身體姿勢僵硬。榆林窟第16窟（參照羅寄梅No.2966）和敦煌第36窟（參照《敦煌壁畫》圖版160）中也有與此相似的描繪。據說敦煌第36窟是中唐吐蕃佔領時期（781～847年）的洞窟，與其相比，此畫表現有些僵硬的感覺。如從臉部的細部表現看，眼瞼部所有的線幾乎都是直的，口極小，唇線兩端勾狀線向下彎曲等，可能時代略晚些。
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