乾隆朝清宫十八罗汉唐卡名相解析

An analysis of the portraits in the Thangkas of the Eighteen Arhats made in the Qianlong reign

藏、汉两地佛教经典及佛学之传播,直承印度晚出之大乘佛学,但罗汉信仰却在两地佛教中均占一席之地,尤其是于汉藏两地家喻户晓的十六罗汉(后演绎成十八罗汉),不仅与佛和菩萨一样成为信徒崇拜的对象,而且以之为题材的绘塑作品更是广泛流传,及至帝廷内苑亦多有供奉收藏。清乾隆时期为安抚蒙藏势力而极力推崇藏传佛教,此信仰尤以宫中为盛,帝室庋藏、绘制及供奉有大量藏风浓郁的十六或十八罗汉唐卡组画,其名称、图像特征、排列顺序乃至绘画风格等与清官旧藏的内地各派罗汉图相比,同中存异。乾隆帝及藏传佛教大师们在对藏密佛像进行大规模系统化与规范化的同时,也涉及了汉藏两地十分流行的十六、十八罗汉,并在此基础上逐渐形成了具有乾隆时期清宫特色的十八罗汉图像标准。

The dissemination of Buddhist classics and Buddhist study in Han China and Tibet followed that of the Mahayanist study from India. But the belief in Arhat plays an important role in Buddhism in both regions, especially the belief in the Sixteen Arhats (later on the Eighteen Arhats), who had been equally worshipped with Buddha and Bodhisattvas and became a popular motif in painting and sculpture that occupies a large part of imperial collection. During the Qianlong reign the Tibetan Buddhism became the national religion in order to keep the Tibetan and Mongolian powers under control. It was particularly popular in the palace where a large number of Tibetan - style thangkas of the Sixteen or Eighteen Arhats were painted, collected and enshrined. These paintings are somehow different from those in the earlier imperial collection in title, iconography, order in display and artistic style. Emperor Qianlong and the Tibetan Buddhist masters largely systemized and formularized the Tibetan Buddhist iconography, but in the meantime they also referred to the popular icons of the Sixteen/Eighteen Arhats in their making of the standards of the Eighteen Arhats characteristic of the Qianlong reign.