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The art of Buddhist figures in China took shape with the introduction of Indian
Buddhism. The legend had it that on
a certain night of the year 60, Ming
Emperor Liu Zhuang in Eastern Han
dreamed a golden man without knowing where he came from. The next day, the
emperor called his subjects together to
explain the dream. A minister named Fu Yi
said Xitianzhu (in ancient India) had such a sage called Buddha dressed in gold. What the emperor had dreamed must be the Buddha. Then the emperor sent one of his attendants, Cai Yin, with thousands of soldiers, to
Tianzhu on a diplomatic mission to seek Buddhist
doctrine. In 67, they returned to China with
Buddhist scripture and figures. This was the
first record on China's Buddhist figures in ancient books, but it didn't
tell what kind of figures they
were. From the existing stone sculptures and
pottery Buddhist figures, we will find that
the Han people carved them according to the
images of celestial beings in vogue at that time.
In the Five Dynasties and 16 States, Buddhist figures in Chinese style began to show up.
They were not reliefs or shallow-carved
images attached to other objects, but
whole Buddhist figures with complete
body structure. The statues, however,
still followed the suit of Indian models.
a stone Buddhist figure
(Eastern Wei)
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In the Northern Wei period, the art of Buddhist
figures flourished and began to shake off trace from ancient India. At that time, emperors
believed in Buddhism which resulted in a
nationwide practice to cast figures. The early
works were greatly influenced by the Indian
arts. The most attractive was two gold-plated copper buddhas sitting abreast. Hebei
region was then the figure-carving centre
and had gathered many skillful craftsmen from the country. Among the Yungang Grottoes we found many ancient outstanding works.
Figures of the middle of the Wei Dynasty changed a lot in that Buddha's faces which once had been plump and decorous became fine and decated. In the late Northern Wei, Longmen style which laid stress on realness and meticulosity became the main stream in Buddhist figure carving. The works presented fine workmanship and a realistic approach. In the era of Xiaoming
Emperor, this exciting artistic style was widely accepted as a rule for the then figure-carving craftsmen to follow.
Buddhist figures in Western Wei not only preserved the delicated and elegant bearings of Northern Wei but also were permeated with more
artistic interest of life. The varied looks and
unrestrained carriage were most fully displayed
in the Grotto Temple on Maijishan
Mountain.
three stone Buddhist figures
(Western Wei)
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Figures in Northern Qi were known for
changeable techniques of expression and
characterization. The combination of Buddhas
and their family dependents presented a colourful Buddhist world. More attention was paid to the sense of beauty against against the gorgeous
back light.
Early arts of Buddhist images in the Sui
Dynasty carried on part of the Northern
Dynasty style. At its mature period of stone carving, Sui Dynasty produces many outstanding Buddhist statues with unique characteristics and dignified gestures and magnificent dress.
When it is the Tang Dynasty, Buddha images
were dressed in clothes so thin and light as if wet gauze sticked to the body.
The half-naked body was well-developed, assuming a projecting and clear arc line from breast to waist. This feature in curved body line
became an important rule to judge carving works of Tang Dynasty from those of the others periods.
Carved Buddha image works of the Song Dynasty were inferior to those in
the Tang Dynasty in terms of number and scale.
But new development was made to techniques of expression. Artists with superior skills
characterized many figures with profound
psychology and personality reflecting real
life.
wood carved Bodhisattva
with lacquer paintings (Song)
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A broad review of China's carving arts of
Buddhist figures showed that figures
mainly followed the Indian styles at the beginning. The Northern and Southern Dynasties made some essential changes and improvements.
China's first generation of Buddhist images with Han characteristics were thus created. Transforms of Bei Qi and the Sui
Dynasty helped the Tang Dynasty creat a new peak of Buddhist figure carvings. This
exotic art was finally localized and became
popular. In the Song Dynasty, religious colour on Buddhist figures graduated faded and common delights of life were reflected. That is the main
development of China's carving arts of
Buddhist figures.
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