Stone sheep

[Shepherd]

Shepherd is 99 cm high and 100 cm long
The stone sheep is carved from a whole stone. The side of the sheep horn is rolled into a “C” shape, the wool on both sides of the body is concentric and round, the legs are kneeling, and the inscription “The sheep made by Ding Ciyu and Sun Zhongqiao, the son of Xiguo, five years old in Yonghe” is engraved on the front. Yonghe is the year used by Liu Bao, Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the fifth year is AD 140
With Sun Zhongqiao’s stone sheep, another stone sheep carved with “Xiao Zi Xu Hou” was entered into the Forbidden City. It should be a pair from the original storage location, size and shape, and carving techniques. According to the investigation, Sun Zhongqiao should be a stonemason, that is, the carver of the stone sheep, and the investor is Xu Hou
The origin of ancient Chinese tomb stone carvings is still uncertain. Mr. Li Ji speculated that the kneeling figures unearthed in Yin Xu in Anyang may have some origin with the later stone statues. Several parts of Xijing Misc. contain relevant contents, saying that there are more than 40 stone men and women in the tomb of the Duke of Ling of Jin, and there are stone kylin in the Qingwu Temple of Wuzuo Palace. However, Xijing Misc. is a late book, and its contents still need to be determined. The stone carving of Huo Qubing’s tomb in the Western Han Dynasty is the earliest known material data of the stone statue
During the Han Dynasty, the stone sheep usually stood in front of the tombs of ministers. The Water Book Notes – Water Chapter records that the tomb of Yin Jian, the mayor of Han’an, “has two stone tablets in the south, two stone sheep in the southwest, and four years in Zhongping.” It is the symbol of the identity and status of the tomb owner, and also the embodiment of the ethical concept of filial piety in the Han Dynasty. Due to the fact that few stone statues are carved with a chronology, this stone goat has become a yardstick to judge the works of the same period and plays a very important role in the history of Chinese tomb carving
The legend of Shiyang comes from Shiyang Town, Linyi County, Shandong Province