“Portrait of the First Teacher, Confucius, Propagating his Teachings”

Ink-squeeze rubbing taken from a stone stele engraved with a portrait of Confucius. This is one of the most frequently reproduced images of Confucius, and exists in several versions. An inscription on the stele, reproduced in the rubbing, indicates that the image derives from a painting by the Tang artist Wu Daozi 吳道子, active in the early 8th c. No original by this artist survives, however, so the origin of this image in the works of Wu Daozi cannot be confirmed. The stele from which this rubbing was taken is perhaps one in the Confucius Temple in Qufu 曲阜, Shandong. The image bears the inscribed title, “Portrait of the First Teacher, Confucius, Propagating his Teachings”, and four lines of four characters extolling Confucius’ virtues. The latter are taken from the “Eulogy of Confucius (孔子讚)” by Chen Fengwu 陳鳳梧 (1475-1541). The stele from which this rubbing was taken is very similar to, but distinct from, the source of rubbing 29-25-22.