A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A mechanician in the Yavana country sends an artificial maiden he has made to serve a visiting painter. She washes the guest’s feet and then stands silently. When he grasps her hand and tries to draw her toward him, she collapses into a heap of chips. The painter retaliates with a painted image of his own apparent suicide, exposing the deception before royal officials. The serving figure actually acts within the tale, whereas the supposed corpse is only a picture; no spirit, living woman or further mechanism is specified.
Origins & earliest records
Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation
Records & interpretation
Complete chapter L.2, The Mechanician and the Painter and footnotes directly read in the digitized 1906 edition.
In the literature
“turned into a heap of chips”
L Three Tales about Artists, hosted printed-page marker361 · W.R.S.Ralston, English from Schiefner’s German Tibetan translation
The artificial maiden’s collapse follows the painter’s attempt to draw her towards him.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
L.2, The Mechanician and the Painter, pp. 361–362; chapter footnote cites Kah-gyur ii. fol. 283
- 02
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — L Three Tales about Artists
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected XVI257–272/XIX286–287/L360–363 and all notes independently read. Particular subject arcs located separately; source-language originals not collated.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)
L.2, The Mechanician and the Painter. pp. 361–362
Entire relevant chapter and footnotes read. Edition cites Kah-gyur ii. fol. 283; original Tibetan not independently checked. Original paraphrase, historical text public domain in the United States.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected XVI257–272/XIX286–287/L360–363 and all notes independently read. Particular subject arcs located separately; source-language originals not collated.
- A Yavana mechanician sends a constructed maiden to wash a visiting painter’s feet. She then stands silent, and collapses into chips when he tries to pull her towards him. To retaliate, the painter makes a false image of himself hanged on a door and hides. The host mistakes it for a suicide and brings royal inspectors; they discover the painted door, and the living painter reveals his public revenge.
German-mediated English witness; Tibetan originals and cited comparative texts not independently read. Page markers from transcription. Historical sacrificial/slavery and moral framing not endorsed. No rite, vow, verse, poison preparation or trapping instructions copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), L.2, The Mechanician and the Painter, pp. 361–362Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
