While statues of the Buddha and similar objects were once not as prized as other antiques, that has changed. Wang Jie enlightens us.

China’s world of luxury

For many people, luxury is about obviously expensive, imported brands of fashion, handbags, shoes, jewelry, watches, automobiles, houses, vacation destinations, costly cuisine and so on.

One dictionary describes “luxury” as: 1) the state of great comfort and extravagant living; 2) an inessential, desirable item that is expensive or difficult to obtain.

Real Chinese luxury can be much more subtle, simple and understated.

In this biweekly series on luxury in China, we explore its varieties and meanings past and present.

Around 1,900 years ago, Buddhism arrived in China, though it did not become widespread until the 4th century AD. At that time, Buddhist art began to flourish and became a permanent part of China’s artistic heritage.

Buddhist architecture and sculpture thrived in the Sui (AD 581-618) and Tang (AD 618-907) dynasties; the latter was particularly open to foreign influence.

With Buddhism, the representation of the Buddha and the bodhisattvas and attendant figures became the great theme of sculpture. The forms of these figures came to China from India by way of Central Asia. But in the 6th century AD, Chinese artists succeeded in developing a national style in these sculptures.

The style reached its greatest distinction in the Tang Dynasty. Figures beautiful in proportion and graceful in gesture show a precision and clarity in the rendering of form, with a predominance of linear rhythms.

However, collections of ancient Buddha statues, whether in stone, porcelain or gold, were not as popular as other Chinese antiques for several decades.

The spark that ignited the fever in ancient Chinese Buddha statues appeared at a Sotheby’s special auction for the statuary in Hong Kong in 2006. One Buddha statue from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was sold for 104 million yuan (US$17.2 million). Since then, the price of ancient Chinese Buddha statues has rocketed from tens of thousands of yuan to several million yuan.

But Zhang Xiongxiong, a 53-year-old collector, was a step ahead of others. Nearly two decades ago, he focused on the Buddha statues at local antique shops.

“At that time, my friends and relatives all thought that I was crazy,” he says, “because they didn’t think of any reason to buy them. But I was so fascinated.

“The stunning curves and the expressions of the Buddha manifested such a high standard of artistic taste and sculpting technique among our ancestors,” he adds.

At the time, Zhang says, “most of my friends were buying Chinese antiques such as porcelain, traditional ink-wash paintings and calligraphy. But I was unable to resist the temptation from these silent Buddha statues.”

Zhang, who has his own advertising business, even paid much higher prices to save them from the hands of a Japanese collector.

“In my eyes, they are the real treasure of China, it would be such a pity if they had to leave the country,” he notes.

Zhang now lives in a villa in the city’s suburbs and owns nearly 100 ancient stone Buddha statues, a figure that might be daunting to his peers in the field.

However, unlike collectors who lock their treasures in a warehouse, Zhang showcases his statues all over his home: They stand in the living room, at the corner of staircases, and on the side table of the dining room. Most are the size of a person.

Because ancient Buddha statues were often placed inside caves or tombs, some think they have some supernatural power.

“Yes, I know. I heard such sayings that Buddha statues have some mysterious power and spirit that an ordinary person would find difficult to handle,” he says. “But luckily I get along well with them.”

Zhang says that his methodology in collecting Buddha statues involves a systematic study of Buddhism and ancient Chinese sculpture art.

The evidence of the growth in Buddhism in China is seen in the many sculpture-filled caves and structures existing today.

The Mogao Grottoes near Dunhuang in Gansu Province, the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang in Henan Province and the Yungang Grottoes near Datong in Shanxi Province are the most renowned examples from the Sui and Tang dynasties.

The Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan Province is still the largest stone Buddha statue in the world. It was carved out of a cliff face in the 8th century AD at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers near the city of Leshan.

“If one wants to collect ancient Chinese Buddha statues, he/she really needs to enrich his knowledge in the area,” Zhang says. “For example, the names of different Buddhas are complicated. The hand gesture also varies. The details of Buddha statues tell you which caves or tombs they are from and which dynasty they belong to.”

Based on his careful study, Zhang says a trick to differentiate the Buddha statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534) and the Northern Qi Dynasty (AD 550-577) lies in how much detail the hair is depicted.

“See, very simple, but you need an eye to open these details for you,” he says.

Zhang adds the study of the meaning of the hand gestures also interests him. For example, if the Buddha stands with his hands rigid at his side, this means he is ready to welcome the many living beings. When his hands are overlapping in front of his chest, it means the Buddha remains still in deep meditation. When the Buddha’s left hand is stretched out with his palms on top, it means he would provide the fulfillment of wishes.

Today, Zhang is able to tell which Buddha statue is from which cave, within a particular period, based on his years of experience and knowledge.

“Believe it or not, ancient Buddha statues have some inexplicable power to find the person who should give them a home,” Zhang says. “One day, I felt quite upset at home with no particular reason. I randomly caught a cab and went to an antique shop that I often frequented. There was a new Buddha statue at the shop. The moment I saw it, my heart immediately cooled down. I knew that it was just waiting there for me.”

Unlike some collectors, Zhang prefers to keep a low profile. He rarely attends social gatherings. He spends most of the day at home practicing traditional calligraphy or improving his culinary skills.

“Life is too short, and I don’t want to waste my time on things or people I don’t feel comfortable with,” he says.

It is an honor to be invited to visit Zhang’s home, because that means he is accepting you as a friend.

“I don’t like being called a collector of Buddha statues. I think I am a custodian of the statues,” he says. “As a human creature, who could own them permanently? I already see through the emptiness of a material world. But I feel happy that they could accompany me right here at this moment.”