Wenchang Wang; following Ming models; China, Qing dynasty, 19th century.

Wenchang Wang; following Ming models; China, Qing dynasty, 19th century.
Patinated bronze, partially gilded and polychrome.
Measurements: 36,5 x 12 x 10 cm.
Wenchang Wang, also known as Wenchang Dijun, is a Taoist deity of Chinese mythology revered as a god of culture and literature. His name literally means "King of Flourishing Culture". He is associated with a constellation of six stars near the Big Dipper and is usually depicted as a scholarly old man accompanied by two attendants, Tianlong ("Deaf Heaven") and Diya ("Dumb Earth"). He often carries a book and a brush, symbols of writing and scholarly destiny, and was traditionally invoked by students and writers for inspiration, especially before exams.
According to traditions, he would have been a man named Zhang Yazi, from Zitong County in Sichuan, who died with honor in a rebellion in the year 374. Throughout history he was credited with up to seventeen reincarnations over a period of three thousand years, and sometimes manifested himself as "the Spirit of Zitong," intervening in war conflicts and being honored with temples. He was also remembered as a model of filial piety, especially for an account in which, to save his ailing mother, he sacrificed himself by feeding her with flesh from his own body.
Other texts describe him as a just and incorruptible official, compassionate with the needy, indulgent with errors and protector of social stability. These virtues made him a highly respected figure, so much so that the Jade Emperor entrusted him with tasks of spiritual governance. In late imperial China, temples dedicated to Wenchang and his attendant Kuixing were common in numerous cities, reflecting the cultural and religious importance of this god for generations of scholars and devotees.