All things old China - books, anecdotes, stories, podcasts, factoids & ramblings from the author Paul French

10,000 Buddhas From Poland – Hurry Up

Posted: July 28th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

JamesPalmerRegular readers will know I like those little footnotes in history that make today seem not quite so weird. I took James Palmer’s The Bloody White Baron on holiday with me knowing that relaxing with the story of a mad anti-semitic White Russian bastard who obsessed on weird religions, had a mate who was a living Buddha and slaughtered and tortured his way across Mongolia after the Bolshevik Revolution was for totally for me!!

And so it is – but I haven’t finished it yet – will post again on the book when I get through it (which is no chore believe me, it’s very readable – thank God a dreary academic didn’t get hold of this idea before and render it impotent as they seem to most good stories with their theory and over analysis).

Still – one little note in the book I liked very much. At the time – just before the First World War the Bogd Khan (Living Buddha) was revered in Mongolia. However, he was obese and had failing eyesight. A giant statue of him was ordered from Inner Mongolia but the people wanted representations of him too. So the Mongolians got in touch with a factory in Poland and ordered 10,000 statues of the Living Buddha.

Just think about that and the world as was then – Mongolia, neighbouring China, calls up Poland to get a job lot of Buddha statues!! If anyone knows where I can get one or can work that eBay thing and find one I’d be forever in their debt. With 10,000 made (though not sure they were ever delivered or paid for) there must be a few knocking around still surely!!


2 Comments on “10,000 Buddhas From Poland – Hurry Up”

  1. 1 Magura said at 5:27 pm on February 27th, 2017:

    Hi, I have one of these statues, they never left Poland but are now almost 100 years old; regards, Magura

  2. 2 Paul French said at 7:05 pm on February 27th, 2017:

    how very fortunate you are – do treasure it


Leave a Reply