Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c4.s2.30

v1.c4.s2.30

Between the 3ʳᵈ and 6ᵗʰ centuries CE, China built many temples. In 247 CE, during the reign of Sun Quan (182〜252 CE), the Jianchu Temple was built in Nanjing. Buddhist temples were built in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei and Sichuan while in the north, according to *Luoyang Jialan Ji* (Temples in Luoyang), in Luoyang alone, there were 42 temples in the 3ʳᵈ century CE. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, this figure rose to as many as 1367. Buddhist temples in China formed a unique school of architecture by combining the traditional Chinese style and artistic characteristics of Indian buildings. The pagoda was a form learned from India and later on, in China there were constructed various forms of pagoda. Cave temples originated in India and spread to the Xinjiang region in China in about the 3ʳᵈ century CE and then were introduced into the heartland of China, reaching the peak of development in the period from the 4ᵗʰ to 9ᵗʰ centuries CE. For instance, the Kizil Grottoes in Xinjiang, Dunhuang Grottoes and Majishan Grottoes in Gansu, Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi and Longmen Grottoes in Henan were all accomplished during this period. These grottoes were influenced by Indian architecture, sculpture, painting and so on.