Art Institute of Chicago

Memorial Stele for the Buddhist Master Daoyin (Ink Rubbings)

Artist unknown

Date

Qing dynasty (1644–1911); Jiaqing–Daoguang reigns, c. 1796–1850

Medium

Album of rubbings, ink on paper

Culture

China

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

In Chinese ink rubbing, dampened paper is applied to a carved or incised surface and dabbed with ink. This practice traces an object’s surface so that raised areas appear darkened and recesses are left white in the final print. This is an early 19th-century rubbing of a commemorative stele, or stone tablet, for the Buddhist master Daoyin that was erected in 663. According to the inscription, Daoyin translated Buddhist scriptures with Xuanzang, who traveled to India from 629 to 645 and brought back hundreds of Indian texts. The original rubbing was cut into strips and pasted into an album, a format conducive to collecting and learning calligraphy.

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