| Pictured is "Five Planets and Twenty-eight Constellations (section)". During the Tang dynasty, Esoteric Buddhism was introduced into China from Tibet. Images of Esoteric Buddhism deity merged with those of Taoism and the constellations were represented in the personified form of immortals or monsters rendered in a genre of theomorphic painting. According to scholars, this work originally consisted of two scrolls. The remaining scroll depicts five planets and 12 constellations out of the 28, implying that it would be the first scroll. This painting was considered one of Zhang Sengyou's (active in the early 6th century) works. However, based on the painting style and the inscriptions, scholars in recent years have deduced that this scroll was the work of Liang Lingzan, an artist and astronomer of the Tang dynasty, or possibly a later copy by a Song artist. |
