The Tang Dynasty candlestick art shapes of “Kunlun children riding white elephants” or “Hu people riding white elephants” are ingeniously conceived and imaginative, which are very rare. They integrate secular candlesticks with white elephant shapes and are deeply influenced by the Buddhist style of South Asia. With the magical power of archaeological unearthed cultural relics in recent years, we interpret these imaginative works of art from a new perspective, witness the world with small cultural relics, observe the religious meaning of white elephants under the influence of Buddhist art, and pay special attention to the foreigners sitting on elephants, so as to directly face the network-style cultural dissemination of Asian Buddhist art to East Asian Han areas.
When I read Tang poetry in the past, I often felt that poetic words were phantoms in front of my eyes. For example, when I read the poem “Du Xiucai’s Painting of a Standing Water Buffalo” by the Tang Dynasty poet Gu Kuang, it said: “Kunlun’s son, riding a white elephant, always locks the neck of his master.” This was the poet’s feeling when he saw the painting, but it left an indelible impression on me. Gu Kuang was a Jinshi of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty, and was good at writing poems and singing songs. He lived at the historical juncture when the prosperous Tang Dynasty turned to decline. He witnessed the popularity of Hu style and wrote poems about Hu merchant ships transporting “Sufang”. “Hu merchant ships transport Sufang, every year from Funan and Linyi, and end in Qi State.” “Sufang” is a wood grown in Funan, Myanmar, and India. It is not only an ornamental plant in the garden, but also a medicinal material for promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling. Gu Kuang should have a better understanding of the local customs of Southeast Asia or South Asia. In his poems, he repeatedly mentioned “Xi Nu”, “Hu Bottle”, “Hu Qu”, etc. He had seen the hard work of Hu merchants and foreign guests in their lives to make a profit.
Unfortunately, we have only heard the poem “Kunlun’s son riding a white elephant” but not seen the image. We have never seen the real objects of many foreign cultural scenes described in Tang poetry.
In recent years, with the magical power of archaeological unearthed cultural relics, we have been able to stand at the intersection of time and space, and often have new observation angles. There is a kind of moment that is enough to see the magic, and a small cultural relic can see the world. Among them are candlesticks of Kunlun’s son riding a white elephant or a foreign man sitting on a white elephant, which are similar to the descriptions in Tang poetry. The glittering candlelight illuminates the multi-level penetration of South Asian Buddhist art into East Asian Han areas.
