Trump Buddha
| Trump, the Buddha of Knowing of the Western Paradise | |
|---|---|
| Chinese: 西天懂佛 | |
 | |
| Artist | Hong Jinshi |
| Year | 2021 |
| Medium | Statue |
| Subject | Donald Trump |
Trump, the Buddha of Knowing of the Western Paradise (Chinese: 西天懂佛, lit. 'Sukhavati Buddha of Knowing Everything'), commonly known as Trump Buddha or Buddha Trump, is a Buddha-inspired statue of Donald Trump by Chinese furniture maker and artist Hong Jinshi.[1][2]
The statue depicts Donald Trump in a Buddhist robe sitting in a cross-legged position with his hands folded on his lap, and his thumbs pointed outward. In Buddhist art, this pose represents meditation and contemplation.[1] Hong Jinshi began selling copies of the statue on the website Taobao in 2021, with 16 centimeter-tall versions selling for 999 yuan (150 USD), and larger, 46 centimeter-tall versions selling for 3,999 yuan (610 USD). The slogan "Make Your Company Great Again" (a parody of Trump's slogan "Make America Great Again") was used to promote the statue.[1] The statue's listing describes it as "Trump, who knows Buddhism better than anyone".[3] Due to the popularity of the statue, many counterfeit statues were sold on Taobao by other sellers for lower prices. Hong has stated that he hopes to eventually give a copy of the statue to Donald Trump as a gift.[2]
Hong was inspired by the juxtaposition between Buddhist ideals and Trump's personality, particularly the Buddha's calm and collected demeanor compared to Trump's perceived loud and stressed personality despite his personal success in life.[4][5] He was also inspired by one of Trump's nicknames on Chinese social media, "King of Knowing Everything".[5] Hong also said that he has no political opinion on Trump, as he is a former American president who lives very far away from China.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Belam, Martin (March 10, 2021). "Chinese entrepreneur sells pensive Donald Trump Buddha statues". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 20, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ a b Myers, Steven Lee (March 12, 2021). "Trump as You've Never Seen Him Before". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ Teh, Cheryl. "A statue of Trump as Buddha is trending on China's online shopping platform Taobao with the slogan 'make your company great again'". Insider. Archived from the original on 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ "Be at peace, meditate, Trump Buddha statue designer tells former president". Reuters. 2021-03-31. Archived from the original on 2022-10-30. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ a b "Chinese artist's Buddha Trump becomes 'yuge' online sensation". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Zhou, Viola (2021-03-12). "We Talked to the Chinese Man Who Made This Surreal 'Trump Buddha' Statue". Vice. Archived from the original on 2023-05-31. Retrieved 2023-08-08.