Antique Arhat Buddha

Antique Arhat Buddha

Hand Carved Stone from Ching Dynasty

Height: 47.5"

Width: 11"

Length: 8"

The Arhats are saints or sages who have attained freedom from the cycle of suffering and rebirth or the stage of enlightenment through Buddhist Doctrine.  Sixteen Arhats are worshipped, thought to be symbolic of the four Arahats that tradition assigns to each of the four cardinal points.  These sixteen are said to have attended the First Council in Rajagrha where they vowed to renounce nirvana in order to devote themselves more effectively to the relief of human misery, like the Bodhisattvas. 

Years:  1644-1911.  The Qing or Ch’ing Dynasty was the last of the imperial dynasties in China and ended with the republican revolution in 1911, bringing an end to 2000 years of monarchic rule.  The term ‘Ch’ing’ means “pure” and was used to add legitimacy to alien Manchurian rule. China experienced substantial growth in both population and territory during this period.  Neo-Confucianism was the dominant philosophy. The arts flourished and Qing porcelain, textiles, tea, paper, sugar, and steel were exported to all parts of the world. Military campaigns in the latter part of the 18th century depleted government finances, and corruption grew. These conditions, combined with population pressures and natural disasters, led to the Opium Wars and the Taiping and Nian rebellions, which in turn so weakened the dynasty that it was unable to rebuff the demands of foreign powers. The dynasty ended with the republican revolution of 1911 and the abdication of the last emperor in 1912.