Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c6.68

v1.c6.68

At the beginning of the introduction of Indian Buddhism, Chinese temple architecture followed the Indian Buddhist grove-styled temple layout with a pagoda at the centre and temple halls built around it. By the time of Jin and Tang Dynasties, temple halls gradually became the central part of the main building and the pagoda was either placed at a non-central position or moved out of the temple. Chinese Buddhist temple layout gradually further integrated with traditional Chinese palace architecture and the main halls began to be standardised, with Mountain Gate, Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, Dharma Hall and Tripitaka Pavilion becoming the essential body of the temple. Its style over the time became more and more localised, and adopted Chinese architectural colorings for the Buddhist temples. Yet the close linkages of Chinese Buddhist architecture with those of Indians especially in grottoes, pagodas, Dharani sutra pillars and engravings, cannot be denied.