· Zi Xiang Dong Containing Copper Sculpture

Tsedong bronze sculpture originated from the mid-nineteenthcentury. The the thirty-fifth general leader of Sakya Monastery, invited anumber of bronze sculpture-craft masters from Nepal to handcraft theBuddhist sculpture in Sakya Monastery. Meanwhile, he also recruitedMichen Norsang and other two local capable craftsmen in Tsedong ofShigatse. Day by day, these three men worked together with Nepalcraftsmen and also learnt the skills of making sculpture secretly. Duringthe nights, SakyaTrizin himself instructed them measurement theoriesthrough "Principles and Theories of Handcrafting Buddha Stature",compiled by Menla Dondrub. Not for long, Michen Norsang fullycommanded the skills and handcrafted many masterpiece of bronzesculpture. From that time, Tsedong bronze sculpture had a renownedreputation of its exquisite technique. Ever since, bronze sculpturecraftsmen in Tsedong have been inheriting and developing theunique technique for over160years.For a long time, Tsedong bronze sculpture formed an uniquecharacteristics under the effective combination of sculpture techniqueinside and outside Tibet, such as; facial expressions of Buddha, thetexture of drapery, decorative ornaments, the shape of Buddha lotus andetc. The three-dimensional effect of the whole statue, especially theprocessing the Buddha’s ears and backlight, is also outstanding. Based on the above condition, this paper mainly study and explore the origins andcharacteristics of Tsedong bronze sculpture in the purpose of savingintangible culture.With other bronze sculpture-related books and solidinformation for reference as well as the objective attitude,this paper willbe divided into six chapters. The first chapter will describe the geographiclocation and handcraft classification of Tsedong area. It will research theorigin of Tsedong bronze sculpture in Chapter2. In Chapter3, thepaper will narrate the process and the tools of handcrafting the bronzesculpture. In the Chapter4, it will be presented the manufacturing process,and in Chapter5, it will analyze the artistic features. At last, this paperwill try to explore the future trends of Tsedong bronze sculpture.