This gold-plated bronze Shakyamuni statue was made during the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty (1403-1424) in China. The royal craftsmen at that time made the statue. Which craftsman made it could not be verified because the crafts made to the emperor.
Shakyamuni Buddha is dressed in a round collar, and shoulder-style robe, with his legs, erects on a rosette. His face is solemn and kindly. The bow arm of the right hand is bound upward with the seal of fearlessness, and the bow arm of the left side is attached downward with the seal of vows. Two large and powerful hands are highlighted to convey the praise and reverence for the Buddha spirit. The style of the Buddha statues of the Indian Gupta dynasty in the 4th and 5th centuries is faintly discernible.
The emperor of Yongle reign, Zhu Di, took over the throne that did not belong to him by waging a civil war and killing his nephew. Although he worked hard and governed the country well after he became emperor, his heart was still filled with fear and suspicion. He had been afraid that his nephew's men would assassinate him or start another civil war. The lama from Tibet eased the uneasiness and fear of the emperor by teaching the emperor the Buddhism that advocated peace and forgiveness. The emperor himself gradually became a Buddhist. Therefore, to curry favor with the emperor, royal artisans created many religious works of art with the theme of Buddhism for the emperor. It's hard to imagine that China was still making these statues when the Renaissance began in Europe. This point in time was the rise of western civilization and the decline of eastern culture. From the Renaissance to the enlightenment to the industrial revolution, Europe finally established a world order centered on European civilization. The so-called eastern countries with thousands of years of civilization, such as China and India, were easily defeated by European colonists. While European artists pondered the meaning of human and gradually constructed the early form of the modern science, China's top artists were still trying to please the tyrannical emperor. I feel sorry and angry about my ancestors.
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