Statues of Trump as Buddha: Success in China

Serenity and calm are rarely the first words that come to mind to describe Donald Trump. However, in this workshop of a Chinese craftsman, it is indeed the American president-elect who sits cross-legged, immersed in divine meditation.

This porcelain version of the Republican billionaire transformed into Buddha is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi.

These figurines, sold between 130 and 2,400 francs depending on their size, caused a sensation in 2021 on Tabao, a Chinese online commerce platform.

As the real estate mogul’s second inauguration on January 20 approaches, they are once again highly coveted.

“There was a resurgence of interest in the days following his election,” Hong Jinshi, who initially created these statues as a joke, told AFP.

The 47-year-old artist says he has sold hundreds of them in recent years.

They amuse buyers because “Trump’s personality and the appearance of the statue are radically opposed,” he adds.

Each figure comes packaged in a package that reads “Make Your Business Great Again” in Mandarin – a nod to Donald Trump’s famous slogan “Make America Great Again.”

Copies have even appeared on sales platforms in the United States, such as Amazon and Temu, at prices rising up to 40 francs.

“It’s always fun to make fun of authority figures and famous people,” says Hong Jinshi, sitting barefoot on the floor of his minimally decorated studio.

With a shaved head and speaking in a soft voice, dressed in loose white clothes, the artist contrasts with the eccentric subjects of his sculptures.

The sculptor recently designed an equally ironic effigy of another controversial American figure: Elon Musk, a supporter of Donald Trump expected to play an important role in the new administration.

The billionaire was transformed into Iron Man, the Marvel superhero, dressed in imposing metallic armor.

But in Mr. Hong’s version, a large rocket emerges from Musk’s crotch, a symbol of the SpaceX boss’s galactic ambitions.

Despite his approach oscillating between homage and provocation, Mr. Hong says he has a lot of admiration for Elon Musk, whose electric vehicle company Tesla, very popular in China, operates a huge factory in Shanghai.

“Musk’s rockets are incredible: he has dramatically reduced their cost,” he says. “He accomplished, as an entrepreneur, what an entire country cannot even do.”

Hong Jinshi, however, refuses to comment on Donald Trump’s policy towards China, a sensitive subject in a country where freedom of expression remains muzzled.

During his campaign, the Republican candidate adopted a tough stance against Beijing, promising for example to increase customs duties on Chinese imports.

The former US president had already imposed high taxes during his first term, measures largely retained by his successor, Joe Biden.

Donald Trump has also angered Chinese leaders with rhetoric holding Beijing responsible for the decline of American industry or systematically calling Covid-19 a “Chinese virus”.

But the septuagenarian politician also has many admirers in China.

“I think he’s still as funny as before,” says Hong Jinshi. “When he’s president, there are funny stories every day.”

Despite their success, the Hong Jishi statuettes are no longer available on the Chinese internet, the advertisements having been removed.

The works may have been considered offensive by Buddhists, he believes.

But orders continue to come in from tourists passing through his workshop, or through friends and acquaintances. His explanation: “Trump is a personality with many stories.”