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Lao Buddhist Sculpture
Lao Buddhist sculptures were created by the Lao people of Southeast Asia. They are typically made of bronze, although gold and silver images can also be found. The Vat Manorom is believed to be the oldest colossal Lao Buddhist sculpture. Today, the sculpture gardens of Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat provide a modern twist to the ancient tradition. Media for the sculptures Lao artisans have, throughout the past, used a variety of media in their sculptural creations. Of the metals, bronze is probably the most common, but gold and silver images also exist. Typically, the precious metals are used only for smaller objects, but some large images have been cast in gold, most notably the Phra Sai of the sixteenth century, which the Siamese carried home as loot in the late eighteenth century. It is enshrined at Wat Po Chai in Nongkhai, Thailand, just across the Mekong River from Vientiane. The Phra Sai's two companion images, the Phra Serm and Phra Souk, are also in Thailand. One is in Bang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddha Park
Buddha Park, also known as Xieng Khuan (as well as other variations of the spelling), is a sculpture park 25 km southeast from Vientiane, Laos in a meadow by the Mekong River. Although it is not a temple ('' Wat''), it may be referred to as Wat Xieng Khuan ( Lao: ວັດຊຽງຄວນ; th, วัดเซียงควน) since it contains numerous religious images. The name ''Xieng Khuan'' means ''Spirit City''. The park contains over 200 Hindu and Buddhist statues. The socialist government operates Buddha Park as a tourist attraction and public park. Overview The park was started in 1958 by Luang Pu (Venerable Grandfather) Bunleua Sulilat. Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat was a priest-shaman who integrated Hinduism and Buddhism. His unique perspective was influenced by a Hindu rishi under whom he studied in Vietnam. After the revolution in 1975, anxious about the repercussions of the rule of Pathet Lao, he fled from Laos to Thailand where he built another sculpture park, Sala ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lan Xang
existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the early kingdom. The kingdom is the precursor for the country of Laos and the basis for its national historic and cultural identity. Historical overview Origins The geography Lan Xang would occupy had been originally settled by indigenous Austroasiatic-speaking tribes, such as Khmuic peoples and Vietic peoples which gave rise to the Bronze Age cultures in Ban Chiang (today part of Isan, Thailand) and the Đông Sơn culture as well as Iron Age peoples near Xiangkhoang Plateau on the Plain of Jars, Funan, and Chenla (near Vat Phou in Champasak Province). The Han dynasty's chronicles of the southward expansion of the Han dynasty provide the first written accounts of Tai–Kadai speaking peoples or ''Ai Lao'' who inhabited the ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pak Ou Caves
Near Pak Ou (mouth of the Ou river) the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave) are caves overlooking the Mekong River, 25 km to the north of Luang Prabang, Laos. They are a group of two caves on the west side of the Mekong river, about two hours upstream from the centre of Luang Prabang, and are frequently visited by tourists. The caves are noted for their miniature Buddha sculptures. Hundreds of very small and mostly damaged wooden Buddhist figures are laid out over the wall shelves. They take many different positions, including meditation, teaching, walking, naga, peace, rain, and reclining (Nibbana Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...). Further reading * External links Pak Ou Caves: Photo and Travel Guide Buddhist caves in Laos Geograp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Champasak
The Kingdom of Champasak (Lao: ຈຳປາສັກ ɕàmpàːsák or Bassac, (1713–1904) was a Lao kingdom under Nokasad, a grandson of King Sourigna Vongsa, the last king of Lan Xang and son-in-law of the Cambodian King Chey Chettha IV. Bassac and the neighboring principalities of Attapeu and Stung Treng emerged as power centers under what was later to be described as the Mandala Southeast Asian political model. History The kingdom was sited on the eastern or Left Bank of the Mekong, south of the Right Bank principality of Khong Chiam where the Mun River joins; and east of where the Mekong makes a sharp bend to the west to return abruptly and flow southeasterly down to what is now Cambodia. Due to scarcity of information from the periods known as the Post-Angkor Period, the Khorat Plateau seems to have been largely depopulated, and Left Bank principalities began to repopulate the Right. In 1718, a Lao emigration in the company of an official in the serv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall
The Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall or the Ambara Villa ( th, พระที่นั่งอัมพรสถาน: ''Phra Thinang Amphorn Sathan'') is a royal mansion situated inside Bangkok's Dusit Palace. It served as the primary residence of the former King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and former Queen Sirikit of Thailand, and was the birthplace of King Vajiralongkorn. History Construction began in 1890 on the order of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) who wanted a European style mansion built inside the Dusit Gardens. The residence was initially named the 'Ivory Garden' ( th, สวนแง่เต๋ง). The name was later changed to the “Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall” or the ''Phra Thinang Amphorn Sathan''; translated as: 'The royal seat in the sky'. Chaophraya Yommarat (Pan Sukhum), Chaophraya Yommarat, Minister of Public Works of Siam, was the director of construction in 1906 and celebrated the completion of the new building with a ceremony lasting from 18 to 22 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Palace
The Grand Palace ( th, พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. .) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at the Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand. Construction of the palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palladium (mythology)
In Greek and Roman mythology, the Palladium or Palladion (Greek Παλλάδιον (Palladion), Latin ''Palladium'') was a cult image of great antiquity on which the safety of Troy and later Rome was said to depend, the wooden statue (''xoanon'') of Pallas Athena that Odysseus and Diomedes stole from the citadel of Troy and which was later taken to the future site of Rome by Aeneas. The Roman story is related in Virgil's ''Aeneid'' and other works. Rome possessed an object regarded as the actual Palladium for several centuries; it was in the care of the Vestal Virgins for nearly all this time. Since around 1600, the word palladium has been used figuratively to mean anything believed to provide protection or safety, and in particular in Christian contexts a sacred relic or icon believed to have a protective role in military contexts for a whole city, people or nation. Such beliefs first become prominent in the Eastern church in the period after the reign of the Byzantine Emp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lanna
The Lan Na Kingdom ( nod, , , "Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields"; th, อาณาจักรล้านนา, , ), also known as Lannathai, and most commonly called Lanna or Lanna Kingdom, was an Indianized state centered in present-day Northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The cultural development of the Northern Thai people had begun long before as successive kingdoms preceded Lan Na. As a continuation of the kingdom of Ngoenyang, Lan Na emerged strong enough in the 15th century to rival the Ayutthaya Kingdom, with whom wars were fought. However, the Lan Na Kingdom was weakened and became a tributary state of the Taungoo Dynasty in 1558. Lan Na was ruled by successive vassal kings, though some enjoyed autonomy. The Burmese rule gradually withdrew but then resumed as the new Konbaung Dynasty expanded its influence. In 1775, Lan Na chiefs left the Burmese control to join Siam, leading to the Burmese–Siamese War (1775–76). Following the retreat of the Bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emerald Buddha
The Emerald Buddha ( th, พระแก้วมรกต , or ) is an image of the meditating Gautama Buddha seated in a meditative posture, made of a semi-precious green stone (jasper rather than emerald or jade), clothed in gold. and about tall. The image is considered the sacred palladium of Thailand. It is housed in the ''Temple of the Emerald Buddha'' (Wat Phra Kaew) on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Origin myths Sinhalese origin according to the ''Jinakalamali'' The legend of the Emerald Buddha is related in number of sources such as '' Jinakalamali'', ''Amarakatabuddharupanidana'', and in particular ''Ratanabimbavamsa'' or ''The Chronicle of the Emerald Buddha'' written in Pali by Brahmarājapañña in the 15th century. The story is a mix of fact and fables with some variations to the story. According to the legend, the Emerald Buddha was created in 43 BCE by a sage named Nagasena in the city of Pataliputra (today's Patna), India. Nagasena allegedly h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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