Wooden ba gua 八卦 apotropaic mirror plaque with an image of Zhou Cang 周仓 riding a tiger, 1980?
Scope and Contents
This is a wooden ba gua 八卦 apotropaic mirror plaque with an image of Zhou Cang 周仓 riding a tiger. The tile is painted red with a carved ba gua 八卦 symbol at the top. The bearded man riding the tiger just below the symbol is Zhou Cang 周仓, a warrior of the Three Kingdoms period, and godchild of Guan Yu 關羽, a fierce military general who became deified after his death. Zhou Cang is holding a sword in his right hand and a wide curved object in his left. The mirror in the centre of the ba gua has been broken and replaced by a piece of tinfoil.
Dates
- Creation: 1980?
Extent
1 object(s) : Wood and metal
Language of Materials
Chinese
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Possibly acquired by, or given to, Joseph Needham during one of his visits to Hong Kong or Taiwan in 1984.
Dimensions
Length: 19.5cm, Width: 9.5cm, Height: 0.8cm.
Repository Details
Part of the Needham Research Institute Repository
Needham Research Institute
8 Sylvester Road
Cambridge CB3 9AF United Kingdom
+441223 762157
Library@nri.cam.ac.uk