T'aenghwa
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''T'aenghwa'' (
Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
: 탱화, translation: "hanging-painting"; alternate:
Hwaom The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bud ...
''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, they ...
visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and texti ...
. A genre of
Buddhist art Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes Buddha in art, depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas in art, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, ...
, 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. They are different from handscrolls, which are narrower and designed to be viewed flat on a table. Hanging scrolls are generally i ...
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 Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...
during the
Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...
. 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 mainly existed in Mahayana forms and was historically especially prevalent along the Silk Road. The history of Buddhism in Central Asia is closely related to the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism during the first mill ...
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 Pure Land Buddhism or the Pure Land School ( zh, c=淨土宗, p=Jìngtǔzōng) is a broad branch of Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhism focused on achieving rebirth in a Pure land, Pure Land. It is one of the most widely practiced traditions of East Asi ...
(Korean: Chont'o) and
Avalokiteśvara In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...
. With the mongol invasions of Korea, Tibetan
thangka A ''thangka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled ...
and esoteric
Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...
influences came during the Yuan rule. The Korean name taenghwa is very similar to the Tibetan word
thangka A ''thangka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा) is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled ...
and the period of popularity of banner paintings in both countries coincided. ''T'aenghwa'' were popular from the 17th century onwards. In the Chosŏn 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