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A Digital Appreciation of Buddhist Illustrations

Shun-tzu Tsai
National Palace Museum
Taiwan

Buddhism is one of the major faiths in the world, and Buddhist objects stand out for their great contributions to the world of art. The collection of Buddhist works in the National Palace Museum is exceptionally varied and fine, including sculptures, religious implements, votive offerings, figure paintings, and scriptures. The Buddhist scriptures in the collection were once treasured by the emperors and passed down through the ages, thereby making them even more important.

With rapid developments in computer multimedia technology and the Internet, the National Palace Museum has designed a special section of its website devoted to Buddhist scriptures and art in order to further enrich the contents of the Internet. The section includes seven categories on this subject. They are 1) an introduction, 2) an appreciation of Buddhist scriptures and images in the Museum, 3) a glossary of Buddhist terms, 4) a selected bibliography, 5) games, 6) a virtual reality tour, and 7) a search index. Of the Museum's collection of 92 rare Buddhist scriptures, six have been selected here from the Yüan and Ming dynasties. These six texts include 139 exquisite illustrations. The lively and varied format of the Internet thus increases the appreciation of Buddhist art and makes it even more convenient.