With regard to the statue of the Pseudo-Marco Polo of Canton, Dr. B.
Laufer, of Chicago, sends me the following valuable note: -
THE ALLEGED MARCO POLO LO-HAN OF CANTON.
The temple Hua lin se (in Cantonese Fa lum se, i.e. Temple of the
Flowery Grove) is situated in the western suburbs of the city of Canton.
Its principal attraction is the vast hall, the Lo-han t'ang, in which are
arranged in numerous avenues some five hundred richly gilded images, about
three feet in height, representing the 500 Lo-han (Arhat). The workmanship
displayed in the manufacture of these figures, made of fine clay thickly
covered with burnished gilding, is said to be most artistic, and the
variety of types is especially noticeable. In this group we meet a statue
credited with a European influence. Two opinions are current regarding
this statue: one refers to it as representing the image of a Portuguese
sailor, the other sees in it a portrait of Marco Polo.
The former view is expressed, as far as I see, for the first time, by
MAYERS and DENNYS (The Treaty Ports of China and Japan, London and Hong
Kong, 1867, p. 162). "One effigy," these authors remark, "whose features
are strongly European in type, will be pointed out as the image of a
Portuguese seaman who was wrecked, centuries ago, on the coast, and whose
virtues during a long residence gained him canonization after death. This
is probably a pure myth, growing from an accidental resemblance of the
features." This interpretation of a homage rendered to a Portuguese is
repeated by C.A. MONTALTO DE JESUS, Historic Macao (Hong Kong, 1902, p.
28). A still more positive judgment on this matter is passed by MADROLLE
(Chine du Sud et de l'Est, Paris, 1904, p. 17). "The attitudes of the
Venerable Ones," he says, "are remarkable for their life-like expression,
or sometimes, singularly grotesque. One of these personalities placed on
the right side of a great altar wears the costume of the 16th century, and
we might be inclined to regard it as a Chinese representation of Marco
Polo. It is probable, however, that the artist, who had to execute the
statue of a Hindu, that is, of a man of the West, adopted as the model of
his costume that of the Portuguese who visited Canton since the
commencement of the 16th century." It seems to be rather doubtful whether
the 500 Lo-han of Canton are really traceable to that time. There is
hardly any huge clay statue in China a hundred or two hundred years old,
and all the older ones are in a state of decay, owing to the brittleness
of the material and the carelessness of the monks. Besides, as stated by
Mayers and Dennys (l.c., p. 163), the Lo-han Hall of Canton, with its
glittering contents, is a purely modern structure, having been added to
the Fa-lum Temple in 1846, by means of a subscription mainly supported by
the Hong Merchants.
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