Xia Jing Shan went into a 10-month seclusion retreat in 1988, and he was painting a portrait of Avalokiteśvara one day when he gained enlightened insight on Buddhist portraiture. He then made it his mission for the remainder of his life to devote specifically to the art form, with the intention of benefiting the general masses. He has since been making art diligently, striving to create Buddhist portraits that are refined and sophisticated, and the continual dedication has brought him to reach the pinnacle of success. The objective of Xia’s Buddhist art is to spread the ethos of Buddhism and to showcase calligraphic works and paintings that embody the principles of “truth, benevolence, and beauty”. Moreover, the inscriptions he writes on his artworks consist of enlightening and educative words. He uses Buddhist paintings to propagate Buddhist teachings and to reach spiritual liberation that leads to the realm of nirvana, with glimpses into a world that is pure and serene offered for everyone to see.
The enlightenment through Buddharupas is a tradition of Buddhism. The distribution of Buddhist art becomes multicultural because of the integration of different cultures and customs. Especially the Buddhist paintings cannot only break the boundaries of aesthetics and make religion a part of art, but also convey Buddhist doctrines and inspire people. The Buddharupas of Master Xia Jing Shan express his mercy and wisdom on paper and silk from his comprehension of Buddhism. Master Xia’s paintings are for conveying the truth, and he creates a new world of refined Buddhist painting art.
The overarching theme of this edition is “The Research of Styles of Buddharupas and Paintings of Buddhism”, and through a process of thesis evaluation and decisions made by the editorial board, the following four papers are chosen.
（1） "A Further Inquiry into the Origin of Buddhist Icons in India" is written by He Zhi-Guo, the Professor of Institute of the Arts at East China Normal University, inquiries into the origin of Buddhist icons in ancient India. It shows that it could be traced back to early to mid-1st century, wi th the Seated Buddha stone relief from Katra and Buddhist images found in Butkara I in the Swat Valley. It therefore concludes that the earliest features of Buddharupas are influenced by the arts of Gandhara and Mathura.
（2） "Diverse Buddharupa Styles from Northern Wei Dynasty Guanzhong Area" is written by Chang Qing, the Distinguish Professor of Arts College at Sichuan University. It analyzes the styles of Buddharupas, found in the area of Guanzhong with Changan at the center, were diverse. It includes studies on the formation, distribution, origin, and sense of ethnic belonging related to the Buddharupa styles found in the region. These elements influence on the different sculptural styles of modeling, manners of dress, and textile patterns, and diversify the styles of Buddharupas from Northern Wei Dynasty Guanzhong Area.
（3） "Analysis of Bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabadhra Paintings by Xia Jing Shan" i s written by Chen Ching-Hsiang, the Professor at the Faculty of History at Chinese Culture University, explores paintings of Xia Jing Shan’s Bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabadhra. Fi rst, i t begins to review paintings of these two Bodhisattvas found in traditional Buddhist portraits, examining how the principles and teachings and also the artistic styles have evolved. The paper then transits to examine Xia’s Buddhist portraits, focusing on the traditions and innovations demonstrated by Xia on the techniques and stylistic expressions.
（4） "Zen Painting With Poetic Ink Expressions – on Xia Jing Shan’s Notable Ink Brushwork in His Hanshan and Shide Paintings", by Yang Zhen-Qin, the Ph.D. of the Department of Painting and Calligraphy Arts at the National Taiwan University of Arts, includes studies conducted on Hanshan and Shide paintings by Xia Jing Shan to analyze the ink expressions, implications, and theories shown on Xia’s paintings. According to the studies, it summarizes the Xia’s usage of ink brushwork to express Zen teachings, with the ink expressions leading towards an enlightened state of Zen through art.
Xia Jing Shan Arts and Cultural Foundation
Editorial Board of Journal of Xia Jing Shang’s Art
榮譽發行人： 夏荊山
發 行 人： 趙忠傑
主 編： 郭博州
編輯顧問： 李宗仁
資深編輯： 李清瑞
執行編輯： 姜又榕、馮紀華
英文編輯： 蘇雲禎
內頁排版： 陳佩蓉
封面題字： 夏荊山
刊 名：夏荊山藝術論衡
刊期頻率：半年刊
發 行 人：趙忠傑
出版機關：財團法人夏荊山文化藝術基金會
地 址：臺北市松山區民生東路三段131號7樓A室
網 址： http://www.xjsacf.com/
電 話： +886-2- 2717-1220 ext 722
傳 真： +886-2-2717-1181
印 刷：碩輝設計印刷有限公司
出版日期：中華民國一〇八年九月
創刊年月：中華民國一〇五年三月
G P N ： 38493861
I S S N ： 2412-6233
