QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
DIAMETER: 8.2CM
The octagonal-shaped sealpaste box depicts the ‘Hehe Erxian’ 和合二仙 under a pine tree amidst rockwork. One figure holds a lotus flower and leaf while the other opens a basket, revealing bats issuing from billowing smoke. The rims of the box and cover are carved with a keyfret design. An inscription in archaic script is carved into the scene and can be translated as:
| 和合乃眾合 | When one is harmonious, everyone will be in accord |
| 合心則事合 | Acting with one heart, things will be harmonious. |
| 世合能合和 | If everyone were in accord, they would live in harmony, |
| 快活樂如何 | And what would the joy of such happiness be? |
The ‘Hehe Erxian’ is a common theme comprised of Tang Dynasty monks Shide 拾得 and Hanshan 寒山. Various versions of the following exchange between these two characters have been recorded on works of art since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The origins are unknown but surely derived from popular culture:
| 拾得問 : 世人能和合 , 快活樂如何? | Shide asked: ‘If everyone could live in harmony, what would the joy of such happiness be?’ |
| 寒山云 : 和氣乃眾合 , 合心則事和 。 | Hanshan replied: ‘When people are kind, everyone will live in harmony, and when they act with one heart, things will be harmonious.’ |
Hanshan is Heshen 和神 ‘Divinity of Harmony,’ Hexian 和仙 ‘Immortal of Harmony,’ or Hexian 和賢 ‘Worthy of Harmony,’ and Shide is Heshen 合神 ’Divinity of Accord,’ Hexian 合仙 ‘Immortal of Accord,’ or Hexian 合賢 ‘Worthy of Accord.’ Together, they are referred to as Hehe Erxian 和合二仙 ‘The Two Immortals of Harmony and Accord.’
清十八世紀 黃楊木雕和合二仙印泥蓋盒
