A Study of Ming Dynasty Buddhist Bronze Sculptures Made at the Yongle Court (1402-1424)
Date Issued
2016
Date
2016
Author(s)
Chou, Ching-Pei
Abstract
The Tibetan Buddhist art made at the imperial court in the Yongle period (1402-1424) is a unique chapter of Ming dynasty. Especially the numerous gilded Buddhist bronze sculptures are the representative works of Tibetan Buddhist art of Ming court. These Buddhist bronze sculptures are often known as ‘the Yongle bronzes,’ due to six characters inscription on the pedestals which indicate the sculptures were made in the Yongle period. In this thesis, the influences of Tibetan Buddhist art on the Yongle bronzes, due to the communicating between the Ming court and Tibet, are discussed in three parts from historical documents, the style analysis to the iconographic study. According to historical documents, the Yongle emperor continued the policy of bestowing honorary titles to the Tibetan Buddhist monks from his father Hongwu emperor. In addition, he invited the three important Tibetan monks, De-bzhin-gshegs-pa, Kun-dga’bkra-shis, and Sakya Ye-shes, to visit China and give them the greatest title ‘the kings of dharma.’ The Yongle emperor not only presented them lots of treasures, but also accepted the abhiseka from these Tibetan lamas. The accepting of the abhiseka and the preface of the Tibetan tantra scriptures written by the Yongle emperor show the enthusiasm and faith for the Tibetan Buddhism. Under the circumstance, the Ming court started producing Tibetan Buddhist artworks, including the Yongle bronzes. By observing the style, we may discover the Yongle bronzes are greatly different from the Tibetan Buddhist sculptures in Yuan dynasty. From the facial expression, the structure of body and to design of adornment, the Yongle bronzes show stronger connection to the style of central Tibet in twelfth to fourteenth century. Otherwise, the Buddhist texts and illustrations in the book “諸佛菩薩妙相名號經咒” which was transmitted by De-bzhin-gshegs-pa is a great example to demonstrate the influence of the kings of dharma from the central Tibet. Plenty of Yongle bronzes are highly similar to the deity image in this book. It shows that the kings of dharma played important roles in the making of the Yongle bronzes. Not to mention the historical records also prove that the kings of dharma from the central Tibet have tributed Buddhist sculptures to the Ming court several times. In summary, the existence of the Tibetan Buddhist art at the Yongle court was entailed by constant cultural exchanges between the Ming and central Tibet, such as those religious leaders'' visit to the Ming court made a great influence on the Yongle bronzes. The significance of Yongle bronzes are not only representing the most sophisticated artworks in this genre but also embodying the cultural products developed by these two distant areas.
Subjects
Ming
Sino-Tibetan
Tibetan Buddhist art
Yongle
Yongle bronzes
Yuan
Type
thesis
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