The Statue of Shakyamuni Emerging is a woodcarving piece by Taiwanese artist Huang Tu-shui in 1926. The replica is an important antiquity of the Republic of China.[1][2]
During the Japanese rule in Taiwan, although Huang Tu-shui became famous in the Japanese imperial exhibition, he was economically disadvantaged. The president of Taiwan Chinese Daily New Newspaper, Akaishi Sadazo, once suggested that he give up pure art creation and make smaller works catering to a general audience to make a living. However, Huang Tu-shui refused to accept this suggestion.[3] At that time, Wanhua residents were to donate a statue of Sakyamuni to Wanhua Lungshan Temple, and Wei Qing-de presided over the fundraising.[4] As a result, in the name of sculpting a Buddha statue, Wei Qing raised funds for Huang Tu-shui to create this work.[3][5]
Huang Tu-shui changed the traditional style of Buddha sculpture. He was inspired by the painting “Shakyamuni Emerging from the Mountain” [6] by Liang Kai, a painter from the Song dynasty. He carved the appearance of the Shakyamuni Buddha, who eventually became enlightened after nine years of practice and descended the mountain. Therefore, the sculpture's name is the “Statue of Shakyamuni Emerging.” The Buddha dignifiedly stands with palms folded, pulling a drooping robe to form two pulling forces. The two forces are closed by a rounded hem and a pair of bare feet, balanced and open.[3][6] First, the artist made a clay sculpture and then turned it into a plaster statue, which was used as a mold to carve it out of wood.[6][7] This piece was completed in 1926,[8] brought back to Taiwan at the end of the year, and enshrined in Longshan Temple.[4]
In 1945, during the Taipei air raid, the Statue of Shakyamuni Emerging, enshrined in the side hall of Longshan Temple, was destroyed.[5] Later, the Council for Cultural Affairs invited Huang Chao-mo to complete the restoration in 1989.[3] On October 30 of the same year, the Council for Cultural Affairs donated five bronze replicas to the National Museum of History, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Tainan Kaiyuan Temple, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, and Lungshan Temple, where the original wood carving was displayed.[3]
References
edit- ^ 文化部文化資產局 (2009-07-21). "〈黃土水／釋迦出山像〉". 國家文化產資網.
- ^ "〈免遭破壞！文史工作者爭取黃土水作品列古物〉". 新頭殼. 2017-08-21.
- ^ a b c d e 施翠峰 (1954-04-14). "〈台灣藝壇奇才黃土水〉". 聯合報.
- ^ a b "〈台灣雕刻先驅黃土水作品石膏原模-釋迦出山像遭竊受損 文建會將於修復後翻銅分贈文化機構〉". 聯合報. 1987-07-23.
- ^ a b "〈台北龍山寺〉". 中國時報. 2003-06-22.
- ^ a b c 劉益昌、高業榮、傅朝卿、蕭瓊瑞 (2011). 《臺灣美術史綱》. 臺北: 藝術家. pp. 236–237.
- ^ "〈魏火曜珍藏 捐贈美術館前夕 「出山釋迦」石膏雛型 昨被小偷砸碎遭棄置〉". 民生報. 1987-07-23.
- ^ 吳垠慧 (2009-03-25). "〈黃土水牛雕 現代藝術首列國寶〉". 中國時報.