A Study On Buddha Statues Of Tay Phuong Pagoda In Hanoi-Vietnam

The topic of this dissertation is A Study on Buddha Statues of Tay Phuong Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam. I have been studying sculpture and working as a lecturer in Vietnamese Art University. I felt deeply honored that I had this precious chance to study in China Academy of Art – one of the most prestigious colleges all over the world. During my study period at this world-renowned academy, I got a chance to visit Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, China. It is one of the biggest and most famous temples with great influence in pagoda culture in China. The Sculpture art of Lingyin Temple shows the images of sculptured Buddhist statues of China. In Vietnam, Tay Phuong Pagoda is a similar ancient temple with its large scale and powerful influence in Vietnam. By studying the sculptural art of Buddha statues of Tay Phuong Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam, I would like to convey the idea in this dissertation that traditional sculpture is immortal and modern sculptural art should be inheritable and creative.Retrospection of the history: Since human society came into being, the religion had been tightly connected with their life. With the evolution of history and the development of society, Buddhism has become one of the three most important religions in the world. During its long process of evolution, Buddhism brings in thousands of treasures to human beings, ranging from the architecture of temple, pagoda, Buddha with diversified sculpture arts, colorful and splendid wall paintings, horizontal inscribed board and couplets in the magnificent temples, and valuable Buddhist instruments, etc. All of these Buddhist art collections not only embodies the religions of different nations but also contains wonderful and moving legends. This is an incomparable and indispensable human cultural relic. Therefore, it is inevitable for this dissertation to carry on the intensive and in-depth study.There are many ways to study sculptures, however, due to all kinds of objective and subjective reasons, the author of this dissertation can only consult and refer to some original materials from home and abroad, combining with on-the-spot investigation and detailed comparison as the basic methods to study the sculpture art of Tay Phuong Pagoda. The Author of this dissertation will endeavor to draw the characteristics of the sculpture of Tay Phuong Pagoda and make some essential conclusions.Buddhism sculpture has always been played an important role in Asian sculpture. However, due to the objective historic reasons, the system of Western sculpture art has prevailed in the modern sculpture nowadays. We cannot ignore the values of Western sculpture, absorbing the essence and diversify our country’s sculpture art. At the same time, we should preserve the cultural characteristic of our nation and make some innovations from inheriting of our tradition. To make some creation and develop it to achieve our own qualified art works rather than simply copy it. This is also the question about how to preserve the native cultural values. To answer this question requires our whole-hearted efforts and responsibilities.