National Palace Museum Exhibits Donated Buddhist Statuary

The museum has dedicated a gallery in Mr. Peng's name and is holding an exhibition entitled "The Casting of Religion: An Exhibition of Mr. Peng Kai-dong's Donation" from 5 October 2004 to 5 January 2005 to give the public the opportunity to view the grace and dignity of these Buddhist idols as they get a glimpse at the generosity and selflessness that made this exhibition possible.

At 93 years of age, Mr. Peng is an internationally renowned collector of Buddhist art. As early as 1987, the NPM asked him to show his collection in Taiwan. In 1995, it purchased 32 fine artifacts from his collection, the most recognized being an invaluable finely-crafted sitting Sakyamuni Buddha from the first year of the Taihe Reign (477 AD) of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Peng Kai-dong's life has been the stuff of legends. Born in a small fishing village in Hsinchu, Peng lost his father at the age of three. After his mother remarried, Peng endured a rough childhood. As a young man, fate took a hand, sending him with a benefactor to Japan where he would work in a pool hall.

Peng Kai-dong later made a fortune in the real estate business and is now frequently listed among Japan's top 20 taxpayers. Peng once served 23 days in jail for breaking the law by mailing US dollars to his children who were studying abroad. While incarcerated, he recalled his mother's devout belief in Buddhism when he was a boy, prompting the idea to collect Buddhist icons.

Buddhism, represented by the cultural artifacts of this exhibition, is the most important underlying force linking Asia both temporally and geographically. Due to ease of transportation, Buddhist statues were an important medium in the diffusion of Buddhism.

The exhibition layout reflects the geographical dissemination of Buddhism and is divided into the South and East Asian areas to allow visitors to see how the outward appearances and styles of the relics vary from country to country and culture to culture.

Examples include a Gandhara Buddhist statue from India's Kushan Dynasty, replete with curly locks and Greek-like aquiline noses, as well as a kingly Cambodian Buddha with a cone-like coiffure gathered at the top of its head, a bare torso, and a short fish-tail skirt tied at the waist.

The NPM designed the exhibition layout with a walkway flanked by Buddhas between the South Asian and East Asian areas. At the end of the walkway are the two stars of the show: a Northern Wei Dynasty sitting Buddha and a polychrome Guanyin Mandala on silk from the Five Dynasties Period. Due to their combined market value of over NT$1 billion, the Japanese government has designated these two artifacts as important cultural relics and will not permit them to be removed from Japan on a permanent basis. So Peng Kai-dong was required to donate them to Taiwan's representative office in Japan which then lent them to the NPM for a short-term exhibition.

Another part of the collection that is shrouded in legend is a statue of the boddhisattva Guanyin (Ava-lokitesvara) from China's Sui Dynasty. The torso of this slender figure is disproportionately long. The simple ribbons, the lines of the folds in the clothing, the graceful figure, the delicate hair, and jade necklace combine to accentuate the bodhisattva's mercy and dignity.

Peng Kai-dong was struck by a poster of a bodhisattva in the doorway of a bookstore during his travels in France. He often visited until he discovered that the Buddhist figure shown in the poster was scheduled to be sold to the Louvre Museum by a collector in Thailand. Armed with its whereabouts, Peng immediately flew to Bangkok where he bought up the statue with a large sum of cash.

Last November, Peng Kai-dong expressed his intent to donate his collection to the NPM through Taiwan's Representative Office in Japan. Overjoyed, the museum promptly dispatched a delegation of four headed by its deputy director Lin Po-ting. Lin recalls that when the final vehicle transporting the collection from Peng's house was about to depart, Peng Kai-dong, despite his advanced years and the evening's chilling drizzle, stood outside to bid farewell to the Buddhist images that kept him company for half a century. His deep attachment to the statues was made evident when, with a choking voice, he wished the Buddhist figures "a smooth journey to Taiwan's National Palace Museum."

Buddhist art enthusiasts and interested individuals can take time out of their busy schedules to take advantage of this golden opportunity to visit the National Palace Museum. The half day needed to view the relics will be a time of peace and serenity. While viewing the display, remember with gratitude the selflessness of the wise man who made this exhibition possible.