佛教造像文化與雕版印刷術的發明

The Culture of Buddhist Statues and The Invention of Woodblock Printing

歷來論及雕版印刷術之起源者，無不將中國古代既有之印章、造紙、石刻等文化，視為發展此項技術的有利條件；而佛教於中土的興盛，則被認為有贊翼之功。然而，向來談論此議題者，大多著墨於佛教徒有大量複製佛典的需求，因而推動了雕版印刷術的發明，用來取代鈔經；實際上佛教造像文化的影響，也是至為重要之關鍵，但這個問題卻鮮有人提及。因此，本文第一節就佛教造像的起源談起；第二節討論造像之目的，並舉龍門石窟造像記為例來說明；第三節說明中國發展印刷術的有利條件；第四節論述佛教造像文化與雕版印刷術之間的關聯，藉由考察造像成本之高昂，來說明雕版印刷術的興起緣由。冀望藉由這篇文章，為此項人類史上的重大發明更添一筆色彩。 Scholars who have been discussed about woodblock printing have not taken the culture of seal, papermaking, petroglyph, etc. as a favorable condition for the development of printing, as for the development of Buddhism in China, it is great helpful. However, most of the people who have been discussing this topic have focused on Buddhists need to copy Buddhist texts in large numbers instead of manuscripts, woodblock printing was invented because of this. Actually, the influence of Buddhist statues is also very important, but this issue is rarely discussed. Therefore, the first section of this paper begins with the origin of Buddhist Statues; section two discusses the purpose of Buddhist statues; section three explains the favorable conditions for the invention of woodblock printing in China; section four discusses the relationship between Buddhist statues and woodblock printing. I hope this paper can add few color to this great invention in human history.