, birth_date = , birth_place =

Nepal Mandala Nepal Mandala () is the ancient geographic division of Nepal into different regions. It was characterized by three major divisions: “ Purwanchal” (Eastern Region), “ Madhyamanchal” (Central Region), and “ Pashchimanchal” (Western Re ...

() , death_date = , death_place =

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

, known_for = Nepalese artist in the court of

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

, notable_works = White stupa at

Miaoying Temple The Miaoying Temple (), also known as the "White Stupa Temple" (), is a Chinese Buddhist temple on the north side of Fuchengmennei Street in the Xicheng District of Beijing. The temple was a monastery of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism and ...

, style = , movement = , spouse = 12 , children = 6 , family = , awards = , elected = , patrons = , memorials = Statue of Araniko at the Miaoying Temple, Beijing , website = , module = Aniko, Anige or Araniko (, zh, 阿尼哥; 1245–1306) was one of the key figures in the arts of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

of China, and the artistic exchanges in these areas. He was born in

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley (), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (, Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayas, Hima ...

during the reign of

Abhaya Malla Abhaya Malla () was the second Malla king of Nepal and a son of Aridev Malla. He succeeded his father in 1216 and died during the 1255 earthquake which wiped out a third of the population of the Kathmandu Valley.Miaoying Temple The Miaoying Temple (), also known as the "White Stupa Temple" (), is a Chinese Buddhist temple on the north side of Fuchengmennei Street in the Xicheng District of Beijing. The temple was a monastery of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism and ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. During the reign of Jayabhimadeva, he was sent on a project to build a golden stupa in Tibet, where he also initiated into monkhood. From Tibet, he was sent further to northern China to work in the court of the emperor

, the founder of the Yuan dynasty, where he brought the trans-Himalayan artistic tradition to China. Araniko led a team of 80 artists to

China proper China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...

and Tibet to make a number of

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

-style buildings. In his later life, he renounced monkhood and started a family. To some confusion in translation, his name is variously written as Arniko or Araniko in old texts. A mistake made by Baburam Acharya ascribed his Sanskrit name as Balabahu. However, later he contends that Aniko might possibly be the Chinese pronunciation for the Sanskrit name Aneka.Acharya, Baburam (1960). ''A: His Family and Place of Birth''. Regmi Research Series, vol 3, issue 11, pp. 241–243

Retrieved 31 Dec, 2012. It is also plausible that his name could mean AA Ni Ka, meaning "respectable brother from Nepal".

Early years

Araniko was born in 1245 in

, when it was ruled by King

Abhaya Malla Abhaya Malla () was the second Malla king of Nepal and a son of Aridev Malla. He succeeded his father in 1216 and died during the 1255 earthquake which wiped out a third of the population of the Kathmandu Valley.Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

ese history does not have any record of Arniko and everything that is known of him comes from Chinese accounts, Chinese history and historian

Baburam Acharya Baburam Acharya ( Nepali: बाबुराम आचार्य) (1888–1971 AD) was a Nepalese historian and literary scholar. He is known as the historian laureate () of Nepal. The four part biography of King Prithivi Narayan Shah, founder ...

opines that Araniko could possibly be from Patan, a place famous for sculptures and fine arts. As such, he would have been a Buddhist but his Newar caste is open to speculation. However, it is known that Araniko lived in

also during the reign of Jayabhimadeva (1255-71), the successor of Abhaya Malla.Petech, Luciano (1984). ''Mediaeval History of Nepal (ca. 750–1480)''. 2nd ed. Serie orientale, toma 54. Rome: Institutio Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. p.100 In the Chinese records, the name of his grandfather is given as "Mi-ti-rha" and grandmother as "Kun-di-la-qi-mei", Chinese pronunciation for Sanskrit names Mitra and Kundalaxmi respectively. His father's name was "La-ke-na" (Lakshman) while his mother's name was "Shu-ma-ke-tai". As is often told in stories about professional artists, Aniko was an artistic prodigy even in his early childhood. An anecdote from his epitaph relates that when he was three years old, his parents took the child to a temple to pay homage to the Buddha. Looking up at a stupa, he asked "who made its wooden ''stambha'', ''bhumis'', ''anda''?" Greatly surprised, the people around realized that he was a born artist. When he was about seven, his temperament was sober like an adult. At school, he mastered his textbooks and became a good calligrapher in such a short time that even the venerable elders acknowledged their inferiority. He could memorize treatises on art as soon as he heard them read. Before he left Nepal for Tibet, he was already an expert in painting, modeling, and casting images.

Mission to Yuan-China

Historical background

The event that brought Arniko to Tibet, and eventually to the Yuan court in Shangdu (today's Beijing), was Kublai Khan's decree of 1260 CE to

Drogön Chögyal Phagpa Drogön Chogyal Phagpa (), who lived from (26 March 1235 – 15 December 1280), was the fifth leader of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also the first Imperial Preceptor of the Yuan dynasty and was concurrently named the director o ...

, the fifth patriarch of Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism, to build a golden

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

for Suer chi wa (Tibetan: "Chos rje pa" or "the Lord of Dharma"), that is the

Sakya Pandita Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (Tibetan: ས་སྐྱ་པཎ་ཌི་ཏ་ཀུན་དགའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན, ) who lived from (1 April 1182 – 28 December 1251) was a Tibetan spiritual leader and Buddhist scholar and t ...

Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (1182–1251), the fourth patriarch of the sect. Kublai's order was one of the indicators of his acceptance of Sakya teaching. The timing of the construction, 1260, is worth noticing. In April 1260, Kublai was elected as the Great Khan by his own supporters, to rival the claim of his younger brother

Ariq Böke Ariq Böke (after 1219–1266), the components of his name also spelled Arigh, Arik and Bukha, Buka (, ; ), was the seventh and youngest son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Möngke, Ariq Bök ...

. Thus, a civil war between the brothers for the leadership of the Empire. In the twelfth month of 1260, he appointed Phagpa his Imperial preceptor and granted him a jade seal and the position of leader of Buddhism. By doing so Kublai officially acknowledged Phagpa as his highest religious authority and was obliged to patronize the Sakya teaching. In return, he expected the Sakya sect to provide religious sanction. The building of the stupa was not only a tribute to the Sakya Pandita but intended also as a project to win religious blessings in a critical year. Ariq Böke finally submitted to Kublai at

Shangdu Shangdu (; lit. "Upper Capital"; ), known in the West as Xanadu, was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan. Located in what is now Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia, it was designed by Chinese architect Liu Bingzhong and served as ...

on 21 August 1264.

Lhasa

To build the stupa, Phagpa drafted artisans from Nepal. The iconographies and artistic values of the Tibetans had a close affinity with those of the Nepali tradition. Therefore, it was natural for Phagpa to turn to Nepal for gifted artists. He intended to recruit one hundred artists, but Jayabhimadeva, the king of Nepal at the time, was able to hand over only eighty. With his appointment as Imperial Preceptor in 1260, it must have been his vision and ambition for the future propagation of his sect throughout the still-growing Mongol empire that he tried to scour for more artists. The artists bound for Tibet were ordered to choose a leader from among themselves. Perhaps due to the uncertainty of their future, nobody was courageous enough to take up the responsibility, except for the confident Arniko. When the king tried to discourage him because of his youth, he replied, "My body is indeed young, but my mind is not." The king eventually made him the team leader of eighty artisans and sent him to Lhasa. He was only seventeen when he departed from Nepal. In Tibet, Arniko impressed Phagpa at their first meeting in 1261. Phagpa immediately recognized his exceptional artistic skill and administrative ability and entrusted him to supervise the construction. The stupa was built within the Main Hall of the

Sakya Monastery Sakya Monastery (), also known as Pel Sakya (; "White Earth" or "Pale Earth"), is a Buddhist monastery situated in Sa'gya Town (ས་སྐྱ་), Sa'gya County, about west of Shigatse in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The monastery ...

. Arniko spent two years on this project. After its completion, Phagpa was unwilling to let him leave when he asked for permission to return to Nepal. By this time, Kublai Khan had defeated Ariq Böke, and both Kublai and Phagpa must have felt that the construction of the stupa in the Sakya monastery had gained religious merit that contributed to Kublai's military victory and other achievements. As Imperial Preceptor, Phagpa was ready to go to the court and disseminate his sect's teachings. Since no artist in China could make the bewildering array of Himalayan Tantric deities that would be indispensable for his religious activities, he needed to bring with him someone who could. Arniko was a natural choice. Instead of going back to Nepal, Phagpa encouraged him to go to the Mongol court to present himself to Kublai Khan. Phagpa accepted Arniko as his disciple and initiated him into secret Buddhist treaties, thus elevating his social status above an ordinary artisan. Thus having discovered Arniko, Phagpa personally prepared and trained Arniko for his future tasks at the court.

Shangdu

Arniko arrived in

(Xanadu) by the end of 1262. The following account of the meeting between Arniko and Kublai Khan is recorded by Cheng Jufu :

On hearing his recommendation, the Kublai immediately ordered the envoy to summon him. After he arrived, the Emperor looked at him at length before asking, "Are you afraid to come to the big country?" He answered, "The sage regards people in all directions as his sons. When a son comes to his father, what is there to fear?" "Why do you come?" He replied, "My family has been living in the West for generations. I took the imperial edict to build the stupa in Tibet for two years. I saw constant wars there, and wish Your Majesty could pacify there. I come for sentient beings." "What do you practice?" He said, "I take my mind as my teacher and know roughly painting, casting, and carving."Cheng Jufu (1316). ''Liangguo Minhui gong shendao bei'' (The Spirit-way Stele for Minhui, the Duke of State of Liang), in ''Cheng Xuelou wenji'' (The Collective Works of Cheng Jufu).

The Emperor was greatly pleased and asked young Araniko to repair an important bronze idol presented as a gift by a Song emperor. It took him two years to finish the restoration. In the second month of 1265, Arniko finished the restoration and the statue looked so perfect that even the most skilled artists of China greatly admired his work. In Yuan China, he designed and built many buildings. His most renowned architecture is the White Stupa of

, which was the largest structure at that time.Kesar Lall. ''A Nepalese Miscellany,'' p.32. Taking almost ten years (1279–1288 CE) to complete, the Stupa better known as White Dagoba, is still standing today. It rises to a height of 50.9 meters and has a diameter of over 30 meters at its base. Thirteen broad circular bands of molding, called the “Thirteen Heavens,” divide its surface. At the apex of the cone is an umbrella-like bronze disc structure with 36 bronze bells hanging from its rim. At the very top is a small bronze pagoda, in itself a work of art. In 1961, then Chinese Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

signed a Proclamation stating that the Temple was to be protected as a National Treasure. This Proclamation kept the White Stupa safe during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

of the 1960s. In 1976, the temple was seriously damaged by the

Tangshan earthquake The 1976 Tangshan earthquake () was a 7.6 earthquake that hit the region around Tangshan, Hebei, China, at 3:42 a.m. on 28 July 1976. The maximum intensity of the earthquake was XI (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli scale. In minutes, 85 percen ...

. The top of the stupa tilted to one side, and the bricks and mortar supporting the stupa crumbled off, and many relics were broken. In 1978, the Beijing Department of Cultural Relics undertook the task of repairing and renovating the temple. As of 2010, the Stupa complex is currently undergoing another renovation.China Travel Guide: Miaoying Monastery and White Dagob

. Retrieved 9 Dec, 2011. It is summarized in his epitaph that during his lifetime, Arniko completed three stupas, nine great Buddhist temples, two Confucian shrines, one Daoist temple, and countless images and objects used in and out of the court. Arniko was also a fine painter, and he executed a number of portraits of the imperial family. The portraits of Kublai Khan and his wife Chabi, now located in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, are believed to be his handiwork.Jing, Anning (1994). ''The Portraits of Khubilai Khan and Chabi by Anige (1245–1306), a Nepali Artist at the Yuan Court''. Artibus Asiae, Vol. 54, No. 1/2 (1994), pp. 40–86. Araniko was accorded with high honors during his lifetime. He was named Director of All Artisan Classes in 1273 and trained many Chinese craftsmen in the Sakya style. Mongolia Culture Blog
/ref> By 1274, he was given a silver plate to wear with an image of a tiger on it. The emperor became very fond of him and gave him the title "Duke of Liang" as an honour. Decorated with Ta Sa Thu, an equivalent of a minister, he is among the few foreigners whose biography can be found in Chinese imperial history books. The most important source of Arniko's life and career is his official epitaph written by Cheng Jufu (1249–1314) under Ayurbarwada's (Renzong, r. 1311–20) order of 1316, ''Liangguo Minhui gong shendao bei'' (The Spirit-way Stele for Minhui, the Duke of State of Liang), in Cheng Jufu, ''Cheng Xuelou wenji'' (The Collective Works of Cheng Jufu). Another important source is Arniko's official biography in Song Lian and Wang Yi, ''Yuanshi'' (The Yuan History), compiled under the supervision of the early

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. It is largely based on the epitaph but contains some new information as well.

Death

Arniko had six sons, two of whom, Asengge () and Ashula () followed his career path as artists working for the Yuan dynasty. He lived in China until his death in March 1306 at the age of sixty-two. Of his death Cheng Jufu writes:

On the eighth of March of 1306, he looked at the people around himself and said, "If I am going, you should set up curtains in the hall and a couch, so that I can pass away in peaceful sleep." The next day, he took a bath and went to court. After returning, he appeared ill. Palace envoys and doctors visited, but he passed away in sleep on the eleventh. The emperor grieved over his death after hearing the news and halted the court session. He ordered palace officials to take care of the family and reward the family with twenty-five thousand taels of silver. The Emperor ordered the authorities concerned to make arrangements for the funeral. That night a star fell into the courtyard. The next day saw icicles on the trees. Seven days later, on the seventeenth of March, his remains were cremated according to Nepali custom. On the fifteenth of July, his ashes were buried in the stupa at Gangziyuan, Xiangshan, Wanping County (near the capital).

The inscription on the stele set up in his memory reads:

::When the sage (Kublai) arose, ::All could behold. ::He knew he should come, ::As if to parent's home, ::Like all the spokes ::::that merge in the hub, ::Like all the brooks ::::that flow to the ocean. ::With sincere minds ::::and open arms, ::Each of them finds ::::the other man's heart. ::Emperor Kublai ::::has a natural flair. ::Nothing he cannot perceive, ::::nothing he cannot achieve. ::The graceful Duke of Liang ::::is the essence of the West. ::Having joined the Sangha, ::He traveled to the East. ::Enlightening was the teaching, ::Like the shining sun. ::His words to the Emperor ::::were modest and excellent. ::"Why have you come?" ::"For the people of the West." ::Extend your virtue, ::::and expand your kindness. ::In the dialogue emerges ::::a mutual understanding. ::The Emperor is virtuous, ::::and the subject dutiful. ::Their words are clement, ::::their deeds are beneficent. ::To his superb skill ::::all lands pay tribute. ::For every thing it is appropriate ::::to begin and continue, ::So that it can last ::::for thousands of years. ::The artists in the past ::::were by no means stupid. ::(But) some had no chance, ::::Others were not appreciated. ::Only the Duke of Liang ::::twisted gold and cut jade. ::The splendid temples he built, ::Are towering and majestic. ::Who says he was a guest? ::He wore royal robes. ::Returned to the laity, ::He achieved fame and fortune. ::His birth was glorious, ::::his death was grievous. ::His began with care, ::::he ended with grace. ::His sons continue his offices, ::Good news never ends. ::The plain of Wanping ::is the place for the Minister. ::Luxuriant trees grow ::on the undulating hills; ::Limpid ripples flow, ::In the meandering brooks. ::The glory assembled here, ::Will last forever. ::Why eulogizing in a poem? ::The historian completes the order.

Legacy

Arniko's imperial portraits represent the watershed between Song, Yuan and later imperial portraits. The aim of later portraits were no longer to suggest virtuous conduct, but physiognomy. This approach was followed not only in later Yuan imperial portraits but also in the Ming and Qing imperial portraits which became increasingly frontal and rigid, and eventually more and more realistic under the new influence of European portraiture. The history of Chinese Buddhist art witnessed three major waves of artistic influences from Central and South Asia: Gandhāra art before the Tang (618–907), Gupta art during the Tang, and Pāla-Himalayan art during the Yuan. Arniko is the figure representing the third wave. The artworks from his institutions, stupas, and the two Yuan portraits from his hand demonstrate that by drawing inspiration from the artistic traditions of Pāla, Nepal, and China. After the collapse of Mongol rule in China, Arniko's artistic legacy and innovation continued to influence Buddhist art at the Ming and Qing courts. The Nepalese government, in recognition of his achievements, had issued postal stamps in his name to honor him. The

Araniko Highway The Araniko Highway or NH 03 () connects Kathmandu with Kodari, northeast of the Kathmandu Valley, on the Nepal-China border. It is among the most dangerous of highways in Nepal due to extremely steep slopes on each side of the road from Barab ...

in Nepal is also named after him.

Cultural references

in Nepal. * In 1984, Satya Mohan Joshi wrote a book-length poem in Nepal Bhasa entitled "Nepal-ya Rastriye Bibhuti Kalakar Arniko-ya Sweta Chaitya," published by Nepal Bhasa Parishad. * In 2008, Anu Raj Joshi translated Satya Mohan Joshi's book on Arniko into English with the new title "The Lasting Gift", in the form of free verses. * In 2010, in the "World Expo Park of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

" at

Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...

Shanghai, which opened on 1 May 2010, had a "Nepal Araniko Center" in the Highlight 1 section of Nepal Pavilion. Nepal Pavilion at Expo 2010 Shanghai, which opened on 1 May 2010, has been visited by a record 750,000 visitors. The number of average visitors per day was 25,000 and the number of visitors was more than 40,000 on weekends and holidays. Leading Chinese language online news site placed Nepal Pavilion within the top ten popular expo pavilions.Bhattarai, Keshav (2010). ''Nepal Pavilion at the World Expo Park in Shanghai

* A Nepali-born Swiss carpenter sought to design and manufacture handmade skateboards named after Araniko called, Arniko Skateboards. Later on, the project expanded to include skateboarding fashion. * A terrestrial broadcasting channel based in Kathmandu, Nepal was also named after Araniko. Affectionately dubbed as

Araniko Television This article covers the television stations established in Nepal and Nepali-language television stations worldwide. Television in Nepal was first introduced in 1983 ( Bikram Samwat 2042) as Nepal Television commonly abbreviated as NTV. It is owned ...

, the segway intro features a white stupa. * Araniko Statue in China: A reference to the white stupa that Araniko and the artisans built in Tibet under the guidance of Phags-pa.