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Secondary sourcePaintingQing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Taiqing Daode Tianzun, Qing dynasty painting

Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

A Qing dynasty hanging scroll on gold silk showing Taiqing Daode Tianzun, the deified Laozi. It shows his later religious form.

Shows Laozi as the deified Taiqing Daode Tianzun in the Qing period, reflecting centuries of later religious veneration.

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Hanging scroll painting on gold silk of a bearded, white-haired elder seated on a throne wearing a crown and embroidered robes, flanked by two smaller attendant figures in halos, one in red and one in blue, holding ceremonial tablets. Clouds decorate the background.
Taiqing Daode Tianzun, Qing dynasty, 1644-1911. Artist unknown. Wikimedia Commons.

About this source

What it is

This is a hanging scroll painting on gold silk from the Qing dynasty, 1644 to 1911. It shows a bearded, white-haired elder seated on a throne, wearing a crown and embroidered robes. Two smaller attendant figures in halos stand beside him, one in red and one in blue, holding ceremonial tablets. Clouds decorate the background. The painter is unknown. The record identifies the seated figure as Taiqing Daode Tianzun, the deified Laozi.

Why it matters

The painting shows that Laozi was still honored as a god in the Qing period, long after his lifetime. The image reflects later Taoist religious ideas. It can help students see that a historical thinker could become a religious figure whose appearance was shaped by artists and believers.

Look closer

  • How does the painter show the seated figure's authority and age?
  • Why might the two attendants be painted in different colors?
  • What can a religious image tell us about the beliefs of its time, and what can it not tell us about the thinker?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Laozi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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