檔案所見乾隆時期宮廷佛像製作及其藝術成就=The Imperial Production of Buddhist Imagery and Its Artistic Achievements as Seen from the Archives of the Ch'ien-lung Period (1736-1795)
The Ch'ien-lung period text, Record of Activity in the Imperial Workshops (Tsao-pan-ch'u huo chi-tang 造辦處活計檔) provides a relatively detailed record of the production of imperially-sponsores Buddhist imagery during the Ch'ien-lung reign. By examining this text alongside surviving examples of Ch'ien-lung imperial Buddhist images, the present essay describes and discusses the nature and artistic achievements of the imperial workshops engaged in the production of Buddhist imagery. During the Ch'ien-lung reign, the imperial workshops gathered together talented Nepalese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Manchurian sculptors and other craftsmen of Buddhist idols. Under the direction of the State Preceptor Chang Chia 章嘉 (a lama and third-generation "living Buddha"), they produced Buddhist images to meet the orders of the Ch'ien-lung emperor. The emperor's adoration of Buddhism, which extended to his own personal baptism at the hand of Chang Chia, together with the growth and establishment of temples and Buddhist halls and the maturing of theories concerning the production of Buddhist images, motivated the large-scale production of Buddhist imagery during the middle and later decades of the seventeenth century. Based on a foundation of Buddhist imagery scripture and standardized principles of image production, these forces mixed and interacted, manifesting the diverse artistic style of Ch'ien-lung Buddhist imagery. Ch'ien-lung's insistence on the production of regulated images that conformed to both classical scripture and standardized measurement was his greatest contribution to the art of Buddhist sculpture. The images of the Ch'ien-lung era thus represent the most accurate representations of the various deities who populate the Buddhist pantheon, and are therefore vital sources of information for the study of Buddhist scripture and image production.
