遼代佛教造像的藝術風格與文化意義―以中台世界博物館所藏造像為例

Abstract

遼朝，是東亞歷史中少數具備非漢族政權、舉國奉佛以及有效治理漢民與少數民族，三條件於一身的王朝政權。作為一代興起於東亞大陸的非漢族政權，遼代王朝治理漢民與少數民族的成功之處，來自於其強盛的武力與文化政治手段。 興盛的佛教為遼代王朝的特色之一，遼代君王更將觀音菩薩尊為契丹家神，納入木業山祖廟，而作為一代以契丹民族為首所建立的王朝，佛教更彷若國教地位的存在於遼代社會中。此外，據史料記載，佛教文物亦曾數次成為遼朝贈送與東亞他國使臣的朝貢禮，這顯示了遼朝將王國文化展現於佛教文物中的可能性。 本論文欲以中台世界博物館所藏之遼代佛教造像為例，從遼代佛教造像的風格流變、特色或造像裝飾中，結合史料文獻的梳理，說明其文化意義，以及佛教的發展歷程與遼代社會之間的關係。古來佛教文物，皆出自於生活在當時代的匠人之手，而各朝代所展現的不同雕塑風格，亦源於不同時代雕刻者，對其所處的王國政治認同或社會文化理解，因此各朝各代的社會面貌，亦透過匠人而納造於佛教造像中。本論文從遼代佛教造像的特色風格，討論佛教的發展對當時社會之間的關係，並以佛教造像為縮影，窺視佛教的發展對當時遼朝社會文化的影響。

In the history of East Asia, the Khitan-founded Liao dynasty was special because of its popular Buddhist beliefs and successful reign of different ethnic groups, especially Khitans and Hans. The Liao government promoted powerful military forces and multiculturalism and it led to its conquest of the large landscape in Northern china. One of the characteristics of Liao dynasty was its prosperous Buddhist beliefs. Buddhism was an important cultural component in Liao dynasty, proven by two historical records. First, the “ Avalokiteśvara, ” a famous bodhisattva in East Asia, had been worshiped as a god in Khitan’s ancestral temple. This historical fact shows that Buddhism seemed to have risen to become the state religion of Liao dynasty. Second, the Liao government had often used Buddhism cultural relics as diplomatic gifts to other Eastern Asian diplomats. Historical records showed that Liao dynasty has likely transmitted its culture and beliefs through these Buddhist cultural relics. Through studying the style alteration on Buddhist statues, specifically the collection in Chung Tai World Museum, as well as the historical records of Liao dynasty, this paper aims to discuss the development of Buddhism in Liao dynasty and its relation with Liao’s social and cultural practices. Since all ancient Buddhist statues were handmade by artists during that time based on their various degrees of understanding and identification with their government and social-cultural practices, Buddhist statues from different time and location can reflect the unique characteristics of that contexts. Therefore, through analyzing Buddhist statues from different dynasties, one can discover different styles of Buddhist statues, which mirror the rich and diverse society values in different dynasties. In sum, this paper applies historical records analysis and Buddhist statues appreciation to discuss the social and cultural influences of Buddhism in Liao dynasty.