YU Mingfu

(Zhushan Painting and Calligraphy Institute, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi 333001)

Abstract:In much of Song Dynasty literature, a Mahoraga was described as a boy holding a lotus leaf. However, textural research shows that the boy with a lotus leaf is not a Mahoraga, but a child in Buddhist tales that has been born from lotus through miraculous transformation. With the cultural evolution, the Mahoraga and the boy with a lotus leaf in Song Dynasty folklore became two Buddhist images people could pray to for a child or a son. Since then, the two images have been confused with one another.

Key words: boy with a lotus leaf; Song Dynasty; Mahoraga; birth by transformation