Yakuzan shuchuu no shu wo iru　薬山射麈中麈

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Ch:Yaoshan She zhu zhong zhu. Lit. Yakusan's Shooting of the Great King of the Big Deers. A Zen 禅 dialogue between Yaoshan 薬山 (Jp: Yakuzan, 751-834) and a monk that uses the shooting of a deer king as a metaphor for a spiritual challenge between monks. The story, case 81 of the Biyanlu 碧厳録 (Jp: HEKIGANROKU, 1300), begins with an unidentified monk asking Yaoshan, "How can one shoot the Great King of the Big deers?" Yaoshan replies, "Watch the arrow," while pretending to draw a bow. The monk falls to the floor, and, when Yaoshan pronounces him "dead," he runs away. Kanou Sanraku's 狩野山楽 (1590-1651) painting at Zougein 雑華院 Kyoto, showing Yaoshan standing, an arrow, the monk fallen on the floor, and a deer, is a typical visualization of the story.

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