Faces of Enlightenment: Changing Images of Buddha in Indian Art

GLOBAL TIMES
By Sun Shuangjie
Images of Buddha from India are on display at Shanghai Museum. Photos: Courtesy of the museum
CHINA---The most familiar image of an Indian Buddha to Chinese people might be that featured in the extremely popular Chinese TV series Journey to the West, in which a Chinese monk in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) traveled all the way to India to see the sage. In reality, as well as the plump Buddha with curly hair and large earlobes featured in the TV series, there are many other versions of images of Gautama Buddha in Buddhist history. Recently, Shanghai Museum has been displaying 91 images of the Buddha from India, showcasing the entire life of Siddhartha Gautama.[link]