In Thangkari I found a literary youth who liked cos bodhisattvas
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In the thangka below, wearing a yellow pandita hat, saying the Dharma seal in his right hand, holding a Dharma wheel in his left hand, and decorating his shoulder with a sword and scriptures, he is the embodiment of Manjushri, the symbol of wisdom in Buddhism.
The alternate identity of the protagonist of this thangka is surprising. Yes, he is Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
Thangka similar to the image of Qianlong Bodhisattva has more than this one in existence.
Why does an emperor appear so many times in Tibetan thangkas?
Why is an emperor keen to pose as a Bodhisattva?
What is the difference between the thangkas "supervised by the emperor" and other thangkas?
01
The emperor's "ID photo": the royal Buddha costume is like a thangka
In the 45th year of Qianlong (1780), the 6th Panchen Lama set out from Tibet and traveled for more than a year to Rehe to congratulate Emperor Qianlong on his 70th birthday.
On July 22 of the same year, the 6th Panchen Lama respectfully bowed and recited:
"The Emperor Manjushri has always been particularly fond of the little Buddha, and the little Buddha is increasingly deep and rich, and the little Buddha will never be repaid.
...... I was fortunate enough to see the face of heaven, and on the occasion of great joy, I was rewarded with a precious satin mattress that shimmered with divine power.
It can be seen that "Emperor Manjushri Bodhisattva" is the honorific title of the Tibetan Buddhist monks to the Qianlong Emperor.
▲The Sixth Panchen Lama is written in Manchu, Han and Tibetan languages. The picture shows the Chinese text in the old collection of the Qing Palace.
▲The 6th Panchen Lama is written in Manchu, Han and Tibetan languages, among which the Tibetan recital is written horizontally on Tibetan paper in gold and ink Tibetan cursive script. The picture shows the end of the book "The Treasure of the Panchen Erdeni" Zhu Wenyin in the old collection of the Qing Palace.
In fact, in the perception of various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the Qianlong Emperor was not the first incarnation of Manjushri. As early as the Yuan Dynasty, there was a saying that Kublai Khan was called "Manjushri Bodhisattva". Emperor Jiajing and Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty are also known as "Manjushri Bodhisattva" in Tibetan history books. Emperor Shunzhi, Kangxi and Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty were honored by Tibetan Buddhist monks as "Emperor Manjushri", "Emperor Manjushri", "Supreme Manjushri" and "Supreme Emperor Manjushri".
Emperor Qianlong was empowered by Emperor Zhangjia Hu Tuketu, facing the great monks of the religious world as the identity of Manjushri Bodhisattva of Tibetan Buddhism, and drew his identity as the incarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva into the thangka, which is the royal appearance of the Buddha like a thangka.
▲Qing painting Puning Temple Hongli Buddha statue axis, the Palace Museum collection.
The Thangka "Qing Painting Puning Temple Hongli Buddha Statue Scroll" in the collection of the Palace Museum is a typical statue of the Buddha with a royal appearance.
In the picture, Emperor Qianlong sits in the center of the throne, his facial expression is slightly serious, his forehead is full, his eyes are focused, the bridge of his nose is raised, his ears are rounded, and his facial features and beard lines are clear and three-dimensional, lifelike. Wearing a yellow pandita hat, wearing a Gelugpa red lama robe, wearing an orange robe, the right hand presents the Dharma seal, the left hand holds the Dharma wheel, the left lotus holds the Buddhist scriptures, and the right lotus holds the sword, which is obviously Manjushri Bodhisattva. The heart of the painting is inlaid with white, red, green, yellow, stone and blue five-color pieces of gold teeth, "Wan" and "Shou" four-color dragon pattern lantern brocade edge, the outer side is inlaid with stone blue piece gold small edge, Buddha curtain and backing are curly grass lotus pattern yellow silk. The top is equipped with a double bamboo lintel, a gilt hanging ring, tied with tape, inlaid with coral and lapis lazuli gemstones, and a round wooden roller rod at the bottom, with a gilt nine-strand vajra shaft head at each end.
The whole thangka from the heart painting to the inlay mounting, is the highest level of the Qing court thangka configuration, it can be seen that the Qianlong Emperor attached importance to and love the statue of the Buddha.
▲ Qing people painted Puning Temple Hongli Buddha statue axis (partial, painting heart). Qianlong is dressed in lama costumes, with the Bodhisattva Fuxian on the left and the Bodhisattva Jizo on the right, depicted as the incarnation of Manjushri surrounded by lotus flowers and surrounded by gods. The old collection of the Qing Palace.
▲ Qing people painted Puning Temple Hongli Buddha statue axis (partial, upper middle). The sky part depicts 25 Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and Huangjiao patriarchs. The old collection of the Qing Palace.
According to the archives of the Qing Palace's Internal Affairs Office (made by Jin Yu in the first month of the 33rd year of Qianlong), it is recorded: "On the sixth day of the first month, the eunuch Wang Baozhu said, and the eunuch Hu Shijie passed the decree: according to the axis head, the frieze, and the silk ribbon on the royal scroll, it is a point, and it is admired. With the painting inlaid with a three-color mat, a bell pestle, a shaft head, a tapestry, a frieze, a paper pattern, and found that the silver-plated bowl inlaid with blue gold, coral, and turquoise mat five pieces were handed over to the eunuch Hu Shijie for presentation. Order: Do the same, admire this. On the 18th of this month, the eunuch Hu Shijie handed over five pieces of gold and a piece of longevity lantern brocade. Message: With the inlaid royal appearance hanging scroll side with its brocade to make a big side, a piece of gold to make teeth, Qin this. ”
The types of borders, teeth, and inlaid gems recorded in the archives basically correspond to the "Qing Dynasty Painting Puning Temple Hongli Buddha Statue Axis". In addition, there are many records of inlaid Buddha statue shafts in the Qing court archives, and the inlay materials and processes are similar, and even the boxes are specially designed special utensils.
There are seven existing Qianlong Emperor imperial Buddha statue thangkas, three of which are in the Palace Museum, namely "Qing Painting Puning Temple Hongli Buddha Statue Axis", "Qing Painting Hongli Pule Temple Buddha Statue Axis" and "Qing Painting Hongli Tashilun Buddha Statue Axis", and two other paintings are in the Lama Temple in Beijing, one is in the Potala Palace in Tibet, and one is in the Freer Museum in the United States.
This portrait of the imperial face is like the ID photo of Emperor Qianlong in different periods, and the face is either handsome young or middle-aged and elegant, or mature in old age.
▲
Three-width dry
Comparison of the local details of the Emperor Long's imperial Buddha costume thangka, collected by the Palace Museum.
(From top to bottom:
Qing people painted Puning Temple Hongli Buddha statue axis, Qing people painted Hongli Pule Temple Buddha statue axis, Qing people painted Hongli Tashilun Buddha statue axis)
02
"Qianlong's will": the obsession of thangka framing
In order to achieve the greatest governance efficiency, the Qianlong Emperor devoted himself to the cultivation of Tibetan Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism Xi.
In his "The Lama Says"
Treatise:
"He who determines the right and wrong of his affairs will Xi his affairs and understand his reasoning, and then he may."
If you don't Xi the scriptures, you can't say anything about it...... "This means that if the emperor wants to determine the rights and wrongs of something, he must become an expert, especially in the field of religion.
It was after studying the Tibetan Buddhist classics that Emperor Qianlong designed thangkas with his understanding Xi of Tibetan Buddhism, and even developed a set of thangka production standards and production models.
Between the 9th and 60th years of Qianlong (1744 to 1795), the emperor personally instructed the hanging Buddha statues (the Qing Dynasty's name for thangkas) to be inlaid hundreds of times. Inlaid with large edges, teeth, curtains, friezes, roll rods, tapes, knots, target rings, mats, etc. are all standard configurations made of thangka inlays, and even the ancient Chinese calligraphy and painting handscrolls commonly used in the middle and late Qianlong periods appeared.
During the Qianlong period, the edging and teeth of the thangka mainly choose pieces of gold, brocade, makeup satin and other materials, the pieces of gold are woven into the gold brocade woven by using flat gold threads and colored silk threads, and the commonly used pieces of gold are red, yellow, green, white, moon white, plain, large flowers, green gold passionflower, big red cloud dragon pieces of gold and other colors. Brocade mainly includes red, blue, yellow, variegated brocade and purple swastika brocade with text and pattern decoration, blue ground gold flower brocade, longevity lantern brocade and so on. Trimmed satins include red, limestone, green, golden yellow, etc. Buddha curtains include red and yellow hata curtains, flower hada curtains, three-color silk curtains, red moon and white silk, three-color spinning and other types. The shaft head is also made of a variety of materials, such as rosewood, copper gold, iron (wàn) gold, tin, silver, lacquer, jade, silver, etc. The material of the edge, the number of teeth and the material of the shaft can reflect the level of the Buddha hanging on the image, such as the statue of the Imperial Buddha with lantern brocade edge and five-color gold tooth and gilt shaft, the Panchen portrait with large flower pieces with gold edge and jade shaft, and the Arhat statue with foreign brocade edge and rosewood shaft.
▲ Qing painting Hongli Tashilun Buddha statue shaft (partial), the edge inlaid with lantern brocade and five-color pieces of gold teeth. The old collection of the Qing Palace.
▲ Qing painting of the 6th Panchen Luosang Beidan Yixi portrait axis (detail), inlaid with large flowers with gold edges. The old collection of the Qing Palace.
The choice and matching of shapes, sizes, fabrics, and colors are adjusted according to the preferences of Emperor Qianlong, the environment of the Buddha Hall, the rank of the Lord Thangka, and the inventory of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The garment work, large vessel work, leather work, tailoring, gilding work, mounting, silk work, leather tailoring, lamp tailoring and other institutions participated in it, and the inlay process was gradually fixed, and finally formed a standard.
In the ninth year of Qianlong, the green piece of gold with a large edge, the red and yellow piece of gold with a small edge, the new curtain, and the white sandalwood frieze rod were the inlays of the old hanging statues; in the eleventh year of Qianlong (1746), it was necessary to inlay the red, yellow and green lines, and the stone and blue edges; in the twelfth year of Qianlong, with three blue pieces of gold on the edge of the world, red, yellow and green teeth, and copper gilded bell pestle shaft heads, the satin-edged Buddha statues all need to be replaced with copper-plated shaft heads, and the standard mode of inlay with satin edges has been formed at this time.
The four-character white silk sign appeared after the 28th year of Qianlong (1763), and after the thangka from the high-level contribution of the Tibetan and Mongolian regions entered the palace and was inlaid with four kinds of Chinese, Tibetan, Manchurian and Mongolian scripts, the information such as the year of the dedication, the person who made the offer, and the recognition of the great lama. For example, it is recorded in the white silk sign of "The Ten Arms of the Qing Dynasty and the Mother of the Buddha": "On the seventh day of the eighth month of the 45th year of Qianlong, the Panchen Erdeni entered the Danshuke and enshrined the portrait of the Buddha Mother with Ten Arms. It is called Wosi Zhan Chakzhu, Qing is called Zhuan Galang Aurden Forehead Mo Fu Qixi, and Mongolia is called Ayabang Gada Tu Ma Li Zi Ke".
▲ "Qing Ten Arms Accumulating Light Buddha Mother" white silk stick, collection of the Palace Museum.
Most of the thangkas of the Qing Palace Buddhist Hall in the Qianlong period that still survive to this day have been designed and mounted by the emperor himself, and the selection of materials, colors and cuts from the thangka inlay all show the "presence" of "Qianlong's will".
03
2,000 thangkas, what does it prove?
The Qing Emperor built 35 independent Tibetan Buddhist temples in the Forbidden City, with an additional 10 affiliated Buddhist temples.
At present, in some ancient buildings, there are still wooden towers, statues, thangkas and so on of the Qing Dynasty Buddhist halls.
▲Yuhua Pavilion is located in the Chunhua Gate of the West Road outside the inner court, which is the largest of the dozens of Buddhist halls in the palace, which is modeled after the mandala hall of the Torin Temple in Aliguge, Tibet, and is rebuilt on the basis of the original Ming Dynasty building. (Image source: The Palace Museum)
▲Fanhua Building is located in the northernmost part of Ningshougong District, and is equipped with Buddha statues, thangkas, and offerings in accordance with the four parts of Tibetan Buddhism Sutra and Tantra, reflecting the practice characteristics of the Gelug sect Sutra and Tantra. (Image source: The Palace Museum)
The Palace Museum has a collection of more than 2,000 thangkas, most of which were painted during the Qing Dynasty. Among them, there are gifts from religious leaders and princes and ministers in the Qing Dynasty, which were called "feudal paintings" or "Tibetan paintings" in the Qing Dynasty, as well as Buddhist lamas, court painters and even Jiangnan weaving craftsmen who painted Buddhist lamas, court painters and even Jiangnan weaving craftsmen in the main hall of the Forbidden City in the Qing Dynasty. Qing court thangkas were not only enshrined in the royal Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist halls, but also spread as rewards to Tibet, Mongolia and other regions.
In the thangka, Emperor Qianlong incarnated as Manjushri Bodhisattva, and played an important role as a spiritual symbol in high-level exchanges with monks and laymen in Tibet and Mongolia, which not only proclaimed the "two ways of politics and religion" as the imperial power, but also achieved the effect of stabilizing people's hearts and stabilizing the frontier.
The thangkas in the Forbidden City were the exchange of various ethnic groups at that time
The product of exchange and integration is a historical witness to the interaction between the central and local governments, and an important carrier for the integration of Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Manchu and other multi-ethnic cultures. More than 2,000 thangkas are just a few of the surviving representatives of the Qing court thangkas, from which we can get a glimpse of the Qing Dynasty's strategy of governing the frontier and the process of constructing thangkas and other spiritual symbols.
（
About the Author:
Zhang Rui, Research Librarian, Palace Museum)
[This paper is the phased achievement of the National Social Science Foundation project "Research on the Current Situation of Thangkas in the Forbidden City Collection and Research on Protection Countermeasures" (Grant No.: 23VJXG048)]
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| Wang Xiangyu
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| Li Yilin
Audit
| Lan Xi Feng
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(This article only represents the author's point of view and does not represent the position of this number)
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