Listen to cartoonist Thi Bui discuss this artwork.

Monk at his Moment of Enlightenment?

When this wood sculpture first entered into the Seattle Art Museum’s collection in 1936, it held a title that many visitors are still familiar with today: Monk at the Moment of Enlightenment. The dynamism and intensity of the piece contributed to the idea that it shows a Buddhist monk at the moment he succeeds in breaking through the constraining barrier of human ignorance to achieve awakening. This identification was so evocative that it remained in place for decades. Perhaps this is due in part to our familiarity with dramatic images in the Western tradition that depict moments of religious transition, such as paintings about Saul’s (Saint Paul) powerful vision that caused him to convert to Christianity. The Renaissance painter Parmigianino evoked this moment in his image of Saul’s twisting body and triumphantly rearing horse.

Smoking Gun

This “monk” is so unique that scholars had not been able to determine his exact identity—the museum had no information about which temple the sculpture came from, nor exactly when it was made. However, new research about this piece by Foong Ping, the museum’s Foster Foundation Curator of Chinese Art, reveals that the monk is actually a dragon tamer. A painting of a similar date provides a good comparison: Arhat (Luohan) Taming the Dragon depicts a similar bulging-eyed monk with fluttering robes about to capture a dragon in his begging bowl. The museum’s sculpture doesn’t have a begging bowl, which would be like a “smoking gun” for confirming the figure’s identity.

Another recent discovery also supports the new identification for this sculpture: a single Chinese character is inscribed in ink on his back: you 友. This is the second character in an alternate name for the dragon tamer Luohan, pronounced Qingyou zunzhe 慶友尊者.

The Dragon King and a Magic Blet

Although the sculpture is most likely a dragon tamer, one other possibility exists. He could also be Nalakubara (or child-god Nezha), who was protector of Beijing city in the 14th century and remains a beloved figure in popular culture today. Beijing suffered from water shortages and flooding attributed to the Dragon King, whom Nalakubara could control. In another story, Nalakubara created a magic belt from the sinews of a water monster that he defeated, and he became important to Beijing’s belt-makers as the patron deity of the Sash and Girdle Guild. This might explain why our figure’s sash is featured so prominently.

Child-God Nezha: The Movie

With his dragon-taming powers, the precocious child-god Nezha remains a popular figure for storytelling today. He is the titular character of Nezha: Birth of a Demon Child, the 2019 Chinese animated movie loosely based on a 16th-century novel titled Investiture of the Gods. Depicting Nezha as a mischievous demon child born to human parents, it was a huge success, setting a record in China as the highest-grossing animated movie.