Trump Buddha
{{Short description|Statue of Donald Trump by Chinese artist Hong Jinshi}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = Trump, the Buddha of Knowing of the Western Paradise
| other_language_1 = Chinese
| other_title_1 = {{noitalic|{{lang|zh|西天懂佛}}}}
| image = Trump Buddha statue.webp
| caption =
| artist = Hong Jinshi
| year = 2021
| medium = Statue
| subject = Donald Trump
}}
Trump, the Buddha of Knowing of the Western Paradise ({{lang-zh|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.{{cite news |last1=Belam |first1=Martin |title=Chinese entrepreneur sells pensive Donald Trump Buddha statues |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/10/donald-trump-buddha-statue-china-taobao |access-date=March 20, 2021 |work=The Guardian |date=March 10, 2021 |archive-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320142637/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/10/donald-trump-buddha-statue-china-taobao |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Myers |first1=Steven Lee |title=Trump as You've Never Seen Him Before |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/world/asia/china-trump-buddha.html |access-date=March 20, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=March 12, 2021 |archive-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318101338/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/12/world/asia/china-trump-buddha.html |url-status=live }}
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. 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. The statue's listing describes it as "Trump, who knows Buddhism better than anyone".{{Cite web |last=Teh |first=Cheryl |title=A statue of Trump as Buddha is trending on China's online shopping platform Taobao with the slogan 'make your company great again' |url=https://www.insider.com/trump-buddha-statue-trends-on-chinese-online-shopping-platform-taobao-2021-3 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230808181630/https://www.insider.com/trump-buddha-statue-trends-on-chinese-online-shopping-platform-taobao-2021-3 |url-status=live }} 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.
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.{{Cite news |date=2021-03-31 |title=Be at peace, meditate, Trump Buddha statue designer tells former president |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-trump-statue-idUSKBN2BN0RU |access-date=2023-08-08 |archive-date=2022-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030110722/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-trump-statue-idUSKBN2BN0RU |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Chinese artist's Buddha Trump becomes 'yuge' online sensation |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/chinese-artists-buddha-trump-yuge-online-sensation/story?id=76553732 |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=2022-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819214050/https://abcnews.go.com/International/chinese-artists-buddha-trump-yuge-online-sensation/story?id=76553732 |url-status=live }} He was also inspired by one of Trump's nicknames on Chinese social media, "King of Knowing Everything". Hong also said that he has no political opinion on Trump, as he is an American president who lives very far away from China.{{Cite web |last=Zhou |first=Viola |date=2021-03-12 |title=We Talked to the Chinese Man Who Made This Surreal 'Trump Buddha' Statue |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/trump-buddha-statue-china-taobao/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |website=Vice |language=en |archive-date=2023-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531041239/https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7azja/trump-buddha-statue-china-taobao |url-status=live }}