出新意於法度之中──寮國近現代的佛教雕像

With Creations within Regulations: Modern Buddhist Statues of Laos

For a long time, Laos has been neglected by its neighboring ancient civilizations or new powers. In the field of art, when the international community talks about Buddhist and Asian arts, most of them just briefly mention Laos, or even omit it, ignoring its existence; when Laos’statues are commented on, they are often classified as“local version”or subsidiaries of neighboring countries. In other words, Laos has long been belittled and demeaned by other countries. Despite a small population, a poor geographical position, a weak economic base, and a rough and rugged national history, Laos has persisted in its endeavors in the sphere where the majority of its people’s spirits have been converted (i.e., Theravada Buddhism and its arts). Art is a place where a group expresses its thought and shapes its identity, and in the art of Laos, Buddha statues are one of the major works. It is remarkable that, even after so many pioneers, Laos has learned from different art schools and has endeavored to develop its own style. Its modern Buddhist statues are characterized by a number of features, including the shape of radiance over Ushnisha, the proportions of the head and the body, the look of the eyebrows, the shape of the ears, the Mudras, the length of the fingers, and the design and decoration of the clothing. These features are not only different from the Buddhist statues of most countries, but also do not go beyond the regulations set by the original classics; the features can be regarded as creations within the regulations.