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Idealism and Beauty

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By tingy90
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Idealism and Beauty The ideal image of the monarchy system is absolute power and strength. In Thailand, the mythological creature Garuda symbolizes the Thai monarchy. Its various significant features serve as a powerful image of the royal families, the widespread usages of the figure as the official seals of the civil government, and its appearance in all forms of art, architecture, and even modern sculpture. Yet, besides Garuda in Thailand, Dragon is also another significant mythological creature of the Asian culture. In China, it serves as a symbol of monarchy. In the same way, its special features of a non-existing creature create an impeccable, respected image for the emperor and his royal family. Even though the Garuda and dragon share the same purpose as the ideal image of power for the monarchs, however, their appearances give evidences to their dissimilar origins.

This relief sculpture is taken from the walls of Wat Prakaew, Bangkok, Thailand. According to Thai mythology, Garuda always holds snakes(naga), in the picture, Garuda is tearing the snake (a symbol of evil) into two, representing its strength, and at the same time, symbolizing sovereignty. The creature is a result of an influence from the Indian culture through Brahmanism during the Buddhist era and the Hindu mythology. It is believed to be a mode of transportation for Narai, one of the Hindu gods. Plus, the Hindus also believe in the incarnation for Narai as a king, therefore; it is now a symbol of the king, as wherever he goes he needs a Garuda, his so-called car. For this reason, Garuda also appear on politicians’ cars to represent the King’s presence. This is done to intensify the commands of the King carried through by his subordinates and also reflects the King’s position in the Devaraja Buddhism as the highest being on earth, and a sign of the arrival of peace, which brings an end to sufferings and misery. Moreover to the formal description, it has got the wings of birds like an eagle and the plump, male body, with a long-hooked beak, and the lower part consist of the legs of the birds. The combination between an eagle and human being creates a prevailing, powerful figure. It has the characteristics of both beings, which can fly over the city in search for miserable conditions, sufferings among the people, and also act a mode of transport, a King’s assistant, a protector of the royal family, and also serves as a symbol of success. Nowadays, it is used to decorate the royal houses, temples, and also government offices. Secondly, this picture is taken from the Jiulongbi or Nine dragon walls in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, built in 1772 during the reign of the emperor Qianlong. The wall is decorated amazingly, using delicate details and vibrant employment of colors mainly yellow, blue, white, and purple to depict nine dragons playing with pearls against a background of the sea and cloud, representing fertility and peace. Moreover, dragon also represents Yang (yin-yang), which expresses the maleness and power, the piece can therefore, be interpreted as the lines of nine emperors. The piece is a high-relief Dragon, a representation of glory, protection and success. As Chinese refer to themselves as descendants of dragons from heaven, therefore; the emperors are the sons of the dragon. People use dragon as a good luck symbol, and it is believed that dragon would ward off evil from their homes. In addition, it serves as China’s national symbol and also absolute feudal system of the monarchs that involved cruelty and dictatorship. As the legend says, dragon has a head of a horse, a body of a snake, and claws of a chook, representing the power of the emperor, the auspiciousness, and also wealth for the people – this might be credible to the wealth of Chinese people in the modern era. Both pieces have been successful in transferring the message concerning idealism of power and strength through the beauty of their forms. While the Garuda is seen as something very further away from ordinary people, as people do not keep them inside their houses, as it might be misinterpreted as looking down on the monarchs, however; Chinese, on the other hand, like to keep dragons inside their houses to bring luck and fortune. The difference in their practices hints a remarkable evidence for an effect in the modern era that Chinese people, especially in Thailand, are the upper classes because they are not afraid of keeping themselves closer to the higher beings, and also gives insights to the belief in the Great Chain of Being in both cultures. References http://www.raredragons.com/ http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/article/China/Chinese-Dragon-Sculpture-&-Statues/1732 http://www.acftu.org.cn/template/10002/file.jsp?cid=61&aid=363 http://tudtu.tripod.com/garuda.htm

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