The Carving of Hanuman

What is it?

If you go to the Kaiyuan temple in Quanzhou, you can see a carving on the Renshou Pagoda. This carving is an anthropomorphic monkey wearing warrior clothing and holding a saber. Since Kaiyuan temple has many motifs from Hindu mythology, including the God, Rama, many archaeologists and historians claim this carving is a depiction of Hanuman. Hanuman is the companion to the god, Rama, and a central character in the Hindu epic, the Ramayama. In Tamil-speaking version of the Ramayama, Hanuman is also an avatar of Shiva. Because of this carving and other motifs of Hindu mythology located in this temple, archaeologists think that there was once a Hindu community in Quanzhou during its heyday.

Interesting Tidbit

Another interesting thing about this carving is that many tourists have mistaken it for Sun Wu Kong, the monkey king character from the Chinese epic, Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng’en. However, it cannot be Sun Wu Kong because this carving was on a pagoda that was rebuilt in 1237, and Journey to the West was written during the Ming dynasty (1368 – 1644). Many scholars believe that Hanuman was the inspiration for Sun Wu Kong. Hanuman, Rama, and the story, the Ramayama, are also very central to Thai culture. Southeast Asia, where Thailand is located, was also an area that was involved in the Maritime Silk Road.

Connection to Guiding Questions

This artifact is connected to my guided question because this Hanuman carving demonstrates that there was a foreign community in Quanzhou during the 1100s and 1200s that practice Hinduism. This community of foreign traders and missionaries came either from the India or Southeast Asia. This carving is also an example of cultural exchange between maritime foreign traders and the locals. Hanuman is a character from the Hindu religion, which originated in India. Hindu merchants from India and Southeast Asia brought Hanuman to South China, and from there, the Chinese locals adapted Hanuman into their own folklore. Later, that Chinese folklore character, Sun Wu Kong, was written into an epic and later worshipped by the Chinese population.

plannapus. (2019, November). [Sun Wu Kong]. Stack exchange. https://i.stack.imgur.com/YbyFZ.jpg