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The Artistic Conception of Chan Buddhism Consummate Beauty
Perhaps because of some Buddhist destiny or knowledge root, Master Yuan Jiaqi's Buddhist artworks make up the majority of his practice. From his twenty breakout works to forty magnificent works made in the prime of his life, they all happened to have Buddhist themes. Because of this, many people now call him "the jade Buddha," and it is not uncommon for Buddhist masters from China and abroad to visit him. From an artistic perspective, it is easy to discover his lofty sense of artistic conception. He skillfully uses the natural nobility and softness of jade, appropriating techniques from other art forms to enliven the classical spirit of jade culture. He thereby expresses his own religious cultivation and artistic inspiration. He incorporates poetic emotion and painterly meaning into his compositions, creating thematic overtones out of the aesthetics of religion. By combining the realm of Chan Buddhism with a poetic sense, his Buddhist sculptures seem to radiate a Chan artistic conception, one of consummate beauty. From his early work Picture of Ultimate Bliss to his crowning achievement Buddha's Grace Illuminates All; from his massive Black Bamboo Garden to the masterful balance of mood and emotion in Flowers of Paradise; to Offering Flower Blossoms to the Buddha, The Void Contains Ten Thousand Realms, and other Chan allegorical works-one senses that they are suffused with some unknowable, imperceptible, unobtainable Buddhist artistic conception. This is the original, universal essence, unsullied in its consummate perfection. The Buddha's expression and the Buddha's emotions free us from all anxieties and impediments. The limits of time and space are already broken. One's emotions are like still lake water. We have transcended the profane, existing outside of the mortal realm. This artistic charm allows us to forget both external objects and the self; only a free and consummate perfection remains. The sense of happiness brought on by this great beauty and wisdom awakens man to the true nature of his relationship with the universe and arouses his natural goodness. It is the joy of instantaneous enlightenment after stubborn pursuit. Incorporating this happiness into art means incorporating a mood of reclusion, limpidity, and stillness.
Multifaceted Imagery Poetry and Painting in Jade Sculpture
The Textural Universe Poetic Gardens
The Artistic Conception of Chan Buddhism Consummate Beauty
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Endowing Form, Molding the Soul The Heavenly Mystery of Jade's Destiny
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