Brooklyn Museum - Bodhisattva Samantabhadra

''T'aenghwa'' ( Hangul: 탱화, translation: "hanging-painting"; alternate:

Hwaom The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primar ...

''zhenghua'') is a characteristic type of

Korean Buddhist Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, the ...

visual art. A genre of Buddhist art, the paintings of icons can be on

hanging scroll A hanging scroll is one of the many traditional ways to display and exhibit East Asian painting and calligraphy. The hanging scroll was displayed in a room for appreciation; it is to be distinguished from the handscroll, which was narrower and ...

s, or framed pictures, or wall-paintings. ''T'aenghwa'' may be small, private and made for indoor display, or large and made for outdoor display. The craft is considered an extension of an earlier tradition of mural painting. There are no manuals that describe ''t'aenghwa'' painting, instead, the tradition preserves its models through paper stencils. Though most of the Koryo era ''t'aenghwa'' are held in Japanese collections, museums in Berlin, Boston, and Cologne carry some as well.

History

The ''t'aenghwa'' tradition evolved from the Buddhist heritage that came to the Korean Peninsula during the Three Kingdoms period. The earliest paintings to survive date back to the late 13th century, late Koryo dynasty. The early korean buddhist painting followed the norms of

Buddhism in Central Asia Buddhism in Central Asia refers to the forms of Buddhism (mainly Mahayana) that existed in Central Asia, which were historically especially prevalent along the Silk Road. The history of Buddhism in Central Asia is closely related to the Silk R ...

and Chinese buddhist art with regard to icon modelling and the use of stencils. Most of the early ''t'aenghwa'' were painted on silk gauze using mineral colours. Popular themes included the Pure Land Buddhism (Korean: Chont'o) and Avalokiteśvara. With the mongol invasions of Korea, Tibetan thangka and esoteric Vajrayana influences came during the Yuan rule. The Korean name taenghwa is very similar to the Tibetan word thangka and the period of popularity of banner paintings in both countries coincided. ''T'aenghwa'' were popular from the 17th century onwards. In the

Chosŏn Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

period, mural painting started to lose its popularity, making way for ''t'aenghwa''. The scrolls were often hung behind the central Buddhist sculpture in a Buddhist temple. This was meant to enhance the sculptural image as well as provide an ambiance to the temple interior. Towards the end of the 20th century, ''t'aenghwa'' were in decline. The ''t'aenghwa'' was considered more of a craft than a high art practice, thus novice monks who showed talent were trained on the tradition by painting various mandatory images. Workshops were sometimes located within the temple grounds and it was here that painters shared their craft with pupils. In the past, painters worked on commission but with few competent masters of ''t'aenghwa'' painting left, the tradition may die out within the next couple of generations.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Buddhism in Korea Buddhist art Korean painting