The Buddhist Art Vietnamese Perspectives

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This book provides an illuminating study of Buddhist art in Vietnam. Vietnam is inhabited by a number of ethnic groups. Most of them practise Buddhism along with spirit and ancestral worship. Origin, present settlement and socio-religious practices of some of the important ethnic groups have been lucidly explained in this text. It also presents early history of Vietnam till its emergence as a modern nation. A flood of lights has been thrown on Non-Buddhist religious sects like Confucianism, Taoism and other local religious sects. It has been well explained that the religious texture of Vietnamese Buddhism got refinement after the visit of several Buddhist monks at different periods. Tracing the roots of Buddhist art in a prehistoric Bronze Age Dongson culture, the text discusses various schools of art and architectural styles of Vietnam. The study of Viets and Chams has been accorded equal importance and examined side by side. The minor Buddhist art forms as wood carvings, engravings, lacquer works, painting etc. has been well discussed.

Dr. Bachchan Kumar, M.A., Ph.D. and D.Litt. (Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar); specialized in history, art, archaeology and culture of South East Asia. He also secured PG Diploma in Industrial Relations & Personal Management, New Delhi and diploma in Pali language from University of Delhi, Delhi. Dr. Kumar has organized and participated in many national and International seminars and conferences. Under the Cultural Exchange Programme, he visited Vietnam in order to study Dongson Culture at the Institute of Archaeology, Hanoi. Besides, Dr. Kumar has been honoured by Asia Fellowship Award 2005. In order to acquaint with his area of specialization and for in depth study, he has widely travelled Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Dr. Kumar is on the editorial board of the South East Asian Review and life member of several professional bodies. He has contributed a number of research papers. He has been honoured by A. K. Narain Award for the study of Cultures and Civilizations of countries other than India. Presently, he is working at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi.

This monograph is a revised version of a postdoctoral thesis entitled "Origin and Development of Buddhist Art in Vietnam" which earned me a degree of D. Litt. from Magadh University. Bodh Gaya, in 2001. To Professor Sachchidanand Sahai, former Chairperson, Department of Asian Studies and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Magadh University, I owe a deep debt of gratitude for encouraging me to undertake a postdoctoral research on this subject and bringing this work to its present shape. Md. Aquique, K. Murari and Y. K. Mishra, my revered teachers at the Magadh University, offered me constant support for which I remain indebted to them. I express my sincere thanks to N. R. Shetty, former Member Secretary and M. K. Palat, Consultant, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi for institutional support to this project. I would like to record my indebtedness to the academic community in Thailand and Vietnam for offering me all possible assistance: Reverend P. N. Chittasobhano, Deputy Rector (Academics), Mahachulongkorn Buddhist University, Bangkok, Ha Van Tan, Director, Nguyen Van Hao, Vice Director, Chu Van Tan, specialist of Bronze Age, Institute of Archaeology, Reverend Tran Cong Thinh, Dao Temple, Pham Xuan Sinh, Deputy Director, International Relations Department, Ministry of Culture-Information, Hanoi, Vietnam. I extend my sincere thanks to the academic staff of the following institutions for granting me access to their valuable collections on Vietnamese art: Institute of Archaeology, Institute of South East Asian Studies, Institute of Social Science Information, Hanoi, Vietnam, Thammasat University, Chulalongkorn University, Silpakorn University, Mahachulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Chiengmai University, Chiengmai, Thailand, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, National Museum, Teen Murti, New Delhi. Finally, I wish to record my deep appreciation for ungrudging support I have received from my wife Ms Renu Srivastava.

Vietnamese studies began with the French intervention this country in the mid 19th century and Vietnam was exposed to the western world. As colonial power began to expand in the later half of the nineteenth century, the French systematically investigated various aspects of Vietnamese life in order to establish effective control over the country. The Ecole Française d'Extreme-Orient (EFEO) was established in Hanoi and researches undertaken on art, architecture, religion, history and epigraphy of Vietnam on a scientific basis. Over during the last hundred years, EFEO has brought give full wish of the book out a large number of publications on Vietnam. In 1927, R. C. Majumdar, in his volume on Champa reflected the French contributions in his writings and embellished his works his scholarly insights. More recently, J. C. Sharma brought out a monograph on Hindu Temples of Champa. Buddhism and Buddhist art, however, remain peripheral in the Vietnamese studies. Champa one of the powerful kingdoms in Vietnam was dominantly a Saivite kingdom with Bhadresvara as the main deity. The Buddhist art of Dong-duong was just an isolated episode in the Vietnamese history. The Social Science Publishing House, Hanoi presented a very useful book on History of Buddhism in Vietnam, in 1992. However, Buddhism as practiced in Champa has not been included in this volume. My interest in the study of Buddhist art in Vietnam was aroused when I arrived in Hanoi in 1993 and visited different cities, their archaeological sites, museums, historical and religious monuments. In fact, the most fascinating moment, which encouraged me to undertake this study, was a visit to a Buddhist temple with a renowned Vietnamese scholar Prof. Ha Van Tan. There I interacted with a Buddhist monk and learnt the inner core of Vietnamese Buddhism and its different manifestation of art. In this monograph, I have attempted to present an integrated view of the Buddhist art from Vietnamese Pespectives in order to bring this theme to the center-stage of Vietnamese studies. Both Cham Buddhism and Viet Buddhism have been accorded equal importance and examined side by side. I hope my modest effort will contribute to the development of integrated artistic nationalism and a cohesive society in modern Vietnam where multiple ethnic groups will contribute to the flowering of Vietnamese culture. I have tried to correlate the interplay of ethnicity and Buddhist art in Vietnam and examine these art forms in the background of indigenous traditions as manifested in prehistoric phases of Vietnamese civilization. This monograph is divided into eight chapters: the ethnic and historical background of Vietnam are first two chapters of this study. Non-Buddhist religious sects (Chapter III) have been examined in relation to the Buddhist art of Vietnam and in the context of development of Buddhism (Chapter IV). The prehistoric roots of Buddhist art have been analysed in Chapter V. Buddhist art of Viets and Chams constitute the themes of Chapter VI and Chapter VII. The last chapter relates to Minor Buddhist art froms. I hope the analysis of Buddhist art manifestation in Vietnam will be useful for the future researchers.

**Contents and Sample Pages**