Quick Answer: Who Are the Eighteen Luohan?
The Eighteen Luohan (十八罗汉, Shíbā Luóhàn) are a group of Buddhist sages depicted in Chinese temples and art. A luohan (罗汉, luóhàn), or arhat, is someone who has reached liberation. Chinese artists also made groups of sixteen and five hundred.[1][3]
- Sixteen: An early account assigns them the task of protecting the Buddhist teaching.[2][3]
- Eighteen: Chinese traditions added two to the older group. Their names differ among sources.[4]
- In art: Count the figures and look at labels, animals or other attributes before assigning names.[5]
An artist can make eighteen figures unmistakable as a group while leaving individual identities open.
The Eighteen Luohan (十八罗汉, Shíbā Luóhàn) may line a temple hall or surround a central figure on a cliff. Each luohan (罗汉, luóhàn) can have a different expression, pose or companion. Those differences help a viewer move from the group’s religious role to the subject of a particular image.
The Text Behind the Group of Sixteen
A text attributed to the arhat Nandimitra came into Chinese in a translation by the seventh-century pilgrim Xuanzang. Its sixteen arhats preserve the Buddhist teaching until the appearance of the future Buddha, Maitreya. Their shared duty gives the group a religious purpose beyond the achievements of the individual sages.[2][3]
Why Some Chinese Sets Have Eighteen
Artists and writers in China expanded the sixteen into groups of eighteen. The Song writer Su Shi identified the additions as Nandimitra and Pindola. Other authors proposed different pairs. In the Qing court, the Qianlong emperor’s versions included the Dragon-Taming Luohan (降龙罗汉, Xiánglóng Luóhàn) and the Tiger-Taming Luohan (伏虎罗汉, Fúhǔ Luóhàn). Dragons and tigers also appear with arhats in other groups, so the animals alone cannot establish the roster.[4][5]
Reading the Figures at Feilaifeng
In Southern Song niche 68 at Feilaifeng (飞来峰, Fēiláifēng) in Hangzhou, eighteen figures flank a large seated Budai. The artists worked with the contours of the rock to overlap figures and suggest a mountain gathering. There are no individual name inscriptions. A dragon or a scepter can help distinguish some figures without settling the entire roster. The setting is a reminder to read a group of cave temple figures as a composition as well as a collection of individuals.[5]
Paintings could organize the same subject differently. A Qing leaf in the Freer collection puts arhat imagery in ink on gold paper. An album lets the viewer encounter the figures one page at a time.[6]
FAQs About the Eighteen Luohan
Does a set always contain the same eighteen names?
The older sixteen provide a foundation for the group. Traditions differ on the identities of the two additions.
What is the difference between a luohan and an arhat?
Luohan is the usual short Chinese form of the Sanskrit term arhat. Both refer here to a Buddhist sage who has attained liberation.
Does a tiger prove the figure is one of eighteen?
The animal helps identify a subject or an episode. Check the full group and any inscriptions before inferring how many figures belonged to the original set.
出典
[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Seated Luohan (Arhat) in a Grotto
[2] The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China
[3] Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. A Luohan and a Demon
[4] Palace Museum Journal. Zhang Changhong, Names and Images in Arhat Paintings Named by the Qianlong Emperor, Part Two
[5] Southeast Review of Asian Studies. Qing Chang, Indigenizing Deities: The Budai Maitreya and the Group of Eighteen Luohans in Niche No. 68 at Feilaifeng
[6] スミソニアン国立アジア美術館。 Eighteen Luohan, F1909.251m