| Summary: | 博士 === 中原大學 === 設計學博士學位學程 === 104 === Tibetan Buddhist sculptural arts began developing alongside Tibetan Buddhism starting in the early seventh century. This art was influenced by Buddhist culture in such peripheral areas as India, Nepal, and China, and constantly absorbing indigenous Tibetan beliefs and popular aesthetic concepts, which caused it to evolve into a unique form of Buddhist craftsmanship. Many kinds of Tibetan Buddhist statues were made, and were often very complex and elaborate in form. As a result, both Tibetan Buddhist painting and sculpture became spectacular art forms. While early Tibetan Buddhist images tended to be carved from stone or made from clay, the production of copper-gold alloy statues gradually entered Tibet from other areas. The making of copper-gold alloy Buddha statues gradually developed in Tibet through the 12th and 13th centuries, which was the Later Propagation Period of Tibetan Buddhism, and copper-gold alloy Buddha statues eventually occupied an important status in Tibetan temple culture. These statues combined exquisite metalworking skill with a unique aesthetic outlook, and this art became one of Tibet''s most representative traditional crafts and a key element of the Tibetan cultural heritage. While the ten-year Cultural Revolution caused the making of Buddhist statues within Tibet to be interrupted, the Tibetan government in exile, after fleeing to India in 1959, established the Norbulingka Institute, which included thangka, wood carving, metal forging, hammering, and casting, and embroidery workshops. The craftsmen who had followed the Dalai Lama into exile, and thus avoided persecution during the Cultural Revolution, maintained the transmission of traditional Tibetan crafts outside of Tibet, and trained new generations of Tibetans in traditional skills that had once faced extinction.
The production of fine copper-gold alloy Buddha statues depends on the proficiency of the craftsmen with the characteristics of copper metal and forging and casting techniques, and is also inseparably connected with painstaking attention to the Buddha statues'' dimensions, proportions, and expression. Research on the making of copper-gold alloy Buddha statues must present the essential nature of this craft from a technical perspective, and also analyze its evolution and influences in light of their cultural and historical background. At present, most studies of Tibetan Buddhist copper-gold alloy Buddha statues have been limited to research on the literature, or consisted of technical inferences and stylistic analysis concerning this art in India and Nepal, etc. Unfortunately, has been a lack of research specifically addressing production techniques used is this richly-expressive form of craftsmanship.
Taking folklore theory as its foundation, this study uses historical research methods to investigate the development and evolution of Tibetan Buddhist statue craftsmanship, Buddhist statue production under the Tibetan government in exile, and the skills transmission system among craftsmen making copper-gold alloy Buddha statues. At the same time, this study also discusses developmental changes in statue dimensions and proportions. A field investigation is further employed to observe the production of copper-gold alloy Buddha statues in a workshop run by the government in exile, including the taking of on-site photographs and records of tools, materials, techniques, and procedures. Apart from making a detailed record on actual operations and performing analysis, the study also discusses the scope of sales and the transmission of skills. Interviews with senior craftsmen and their apprentices provide an in-depth understanding of how the skills used in the production of copper-gold alloy Buddha statues are passed on. The information gained in this way can fill gaps in the literature and confirm the results of field surveys and other research, and can shed light on the historical background of senior craftsmen and their lines of transmission.
Apart from performing a thorough overview of this traditional Tibetan craft, this study can also make a significant contribution to the protection of intangible cultural assets. It was found that in the process of passing on traditional craftsmanship in the copper-gold alloy Buddha statue workshop at the Norbulingka Institute, apart from transmitting crafts techniques, the transmission of the spirit of craftsmanship has been a key factor. The masters and their apprentices work together like fathers and sons, and the spirit of craftsmanship is transmitted imperceptibly and intangibly. This spirit of craftsmanship is something that modern education cannot effectively impart, and the sense of responsibility for the transmission of culture that accompanies the spirit of craftsmanship is the key to the continued propagation of traditional crafts. This line of reasoning can provide us with insights concerning the transmission of traditional crafts.
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