Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s4: D. Painting • Sculpture

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s4

Language
English

Contents

D. Painting • Sculpture

Concepts and Schools

v2.c11.s4.t1.1

Chinese Painting

v2.c11.s4.t1.2

Chinese painting has had a rich history of over 5,000 years. The earliest examples of painting in China in fact go back to Chinese neolithic pottery dating back to the 5th millennium BCE. Chinese painting has been closely related to other traditional Chinese forms of art and craft such as pottery, carving on jade, inscriptions on bronze and so on. Until about the 4th century CE, Chinese painting developed along its own lines, receiving outside influences only from its direct nomadic neighbours, and not from any distant cultural sphere.

v2.c11.s4.t1.3

The source of Indian influence on Chinese painting can be traced to the gradual percolation of by Indian artists in China. For instance, in 430 CE, the monk Gunavarman is supposed to have painted a scene from the Jataka tales in a temple near Guangzhou. There is also mention of Indian painters Kobodha and Dharmaraksha at the court of Sui Yangdi in the seventh century. However, none of the works of such Indian artists are extant.

v2.c11.s4.t1.4

Hand gestures in Indian dance

v2.c11.s4.t1.5

A Tang Dynasty painting depicting Śākyamuṇi propounding the Dharma in the Gṛjdhrakūṭa mountain, excavated in cave number 17 at the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang in Gansu Province in China. This is preserved in the British Museum in London. The embroidered painting depicts Śākyamuṇi delivering the Saddharmapuṇdarīka Sūtra at the Gṛjdhrakūṭa mountain in Rājagṛiha.

v2.c11.s4.t1.6

An oil painting about 'The Old Man Shifts the Mountain' (Yugong Yishan), painted by Xu Beihong.

v2.c11.s4.t1.7

In the course of time, Indian artistic influences fused with Chinese artistic traditions to create a distinctive style of painting, with recognisable Indian elements but Chinese in inspiration and execution. One of the most important Indian inputs into Chinese painting was in the depiction of the human figure. In some Chinese paintings of the late 4th century, where we have court ladies depicted with long ribbons hanging from their robes, blowing as if in the wind, we have a new genre of figure painting. What we see increasingly from this period onwards is the painting of full human figures with subtle depiction of form in contrast to earlier more rigid representation of human forms. Painting of human figures reached a height of sophistication in Tang period.

v2.c11.s4.t1.8

Buddhism, with its distinctive art and iconography, from India through eastern Central Asia along the Silk Route. This influence can be discerned from the 3rd-4th centuries CE and reached its culmination in the Tang period (618-907 CE). Perhaps its finest

v2.c11.s4.t1.9

A glass portrait of George Washington painted by an unknown Chinese painter in 1800 CE. IT is now preserved in the Peabody Essex Museum in the United States of America.

v2.c11.s4.t1.10

expression can be found in the breathtaking murals in the Mogao grottoes at Dunhuang in Gansu province of China.

v2.c11.s4.t1.11

With respect to the early phase of the transmission of Indic artistic influences to China, there is some evidence in the literary sources of the work done

v2.c11.s4.t1.12

This art of plastic and even sensuous representation of human figures was best exemplified in the depiction of the Buddha and of figures from the pantheon of Mahayana Buddhism, particularly in grotto painting. The practice of carving out grottoes from caves and then covering the walls of these caves with murals clearly travelled from Ajanta and northwest India to China through the oases of today's Xinjiang. Examples of such art can be found in many places in China, including in Khotan and the Kizil cave complex near Kucha; but the most magnificent example is that in the Mogao grottoes at Dunhuang. The paintings depicted narratives from the Buddhist sutras, and were filled with countless images including Bodhisattavas and arhats, asuras (demons), lokapalas, Ganesa, gandharvas, apsaras and other celestial beings, testifying to the influence of Indian iconography, even while the actual style and depiction, as well as overall composition, have a distinctive Chinese character. Apart from the wall murals, silk paintings and banners found in the Mogao grottoes also testify to the influence of Indian art, especially the Gandhara, Gupta and Pala schools of art.

v2.c11.s4.t1.13

A 19ᵗʰ century CE glass image of a famous courtesan of Qing Dynasty.

v2.c11.s4.t1.14

While the impact of Indian influence on traditional Chinese painting is undeniable, the transmission of artistic influences between India and China over the course of history has moved in both directions. However, the influence of Chinese painting and Chinese painters on Indian art as well as on Indian aesthetic tastes and lifestyles goes back only to the 19th century CE. Indian fascination with Chinese painting in this period was a by-product of the maritime trade between India and China. Parsi merchants who travelled to Canton and Macau from Bombay came across the export art produced in Guangdong to meet the demands of the foreign business community. One of the products of Guangdong’s export art industry that appealed to Bombay merchants was Chinese portrait painting. Oil painting was introduced into China from Europe only in the 17th and early 18th centuries CE, and in China it never achieved the status of the traditional ink and watercolour paintings. However, Chinese oil paintings which realistically portrayed scenes from everyday life in China were much in demand among foreign merchants. Chinese painters were also able to produce skilfully done portraits of foreign China coast merchants, among whom were a significant number of Indian Parsi merchants. Although these portraits were produced in studios where the actual painter often remained anonymous, some of the masters such as Lamqua, Spoilum and Sunqua became well known. Some of these Chinese artists were persuaded to come and stay for a while in India, where they painted many portraits of the families of Parsi merchants.

v2.c11.s4.t1.15

A type of painting from China that became popular in India was reverse glass painting. This referred to the technique of engraving a picture on the reverse side of a piece of glass and then applying colours. Reverse glass painting was also introduced into China from Europe by Jesuit missionaries, but Chinese artists became adept at it. The demand for this new and unusual form of painting was not confined to those Indians involved with the China trade, but it also caught on among the royalty and elite of the various princely states in India, such as Mysore, Satara and Kutch as well. More than forty paintings done by Chinese artists under the patronage of Tipu Sultan are displayed in the Jagmohan Palace Art Gallery in Mysore, Karnataka. Apart from painting portraits of notables and their families, as well as courtesans and dancing girls, Chinese artists also painted portraits of Indian gods and goddesses and themes from Indian mythology. The technique of glass painting was adopted by Indian craftsmen and spread widely through India, as far as Thanjavur in the South, Hyderabad and the Deccan region, and all the way east to Delhi, Awadh, Bihar and Bengal. The famous Tanjore painting school is a product of the fusion of Chinese and Indian art traditions.

v2.c11.s4.t1.16

In the twentieth century, Chinese painting came to be known and appreciated in India in a completely different way. In keeping with the spirit of Asianism that inspired many intellectuals and nationalists in India, China, Japan and other Asian countries, Indian artists looked with fresh eyes at the work of Chinese artists. When the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore visited China in 1924, he was accompanied by the noted artist Nandlal Bose who headed the art school (Kala Bhavan) of Tagore’s Vishwa-Bharati University at Santiniketan. One of the pioneers of Indian modern art, Binod Behari Mukherjee, also visited China in 1937. In 1940-41, the famous Chinese artist Xu Beihong stayed in India and produced many works, including his well-known masterpiece “The Foolish Old Man Who Moved the Mountain”. Artistic exchanges of this nature continued into the 1950s, with the Indian painter N Choudhury visiting China in 1956 and the Chinese painter Shi Lu visiting India in the same year. Shi Lu was particularly taken with Indian folk art, and elements from his Indian experience manifested themselves in some of his paintings.

v2.c11.s4.t1.17

(*Madhavi Thampi*)

v2.c11.s4.t1.18

Cao Zhongda Technique

v2.c11.s4.t1.19

**Cao’s Clothes out of Water** (Cao Yi Chu Shui) The ‘Cao’s Style' Buddha portraits were innovated by ‘Cao Zhongda’, a Chinese painter in the Northern Qi Dynasty. The 'Cao’s Style’ Buddha portraits used dense and overlapped lines, with clothes close to the body, as if just coming out of the water. It might have been influenced by the Mathura style of Buddha portraits in the Gupta period, India. The future generations mention in the same breath 'Cao’s Style' Buddha portraits and 'Wu’s Style' Buddha portraits by painter Wu Tao-tzu in the Tang Dynasty, and call them “Wu’s belt against the wind; Cao’s clothes out of the water.” See the ‘*Cao Zhongda*’ entry.

v2.c11.s4.t1.20

(*Wang Yong*)

v2.c11.s4.t1.21

Iron Line Drawing

v2.c11.s4.t1.22

Iron Line Depicting (Tie Xian Miao) One of the “eighteen depicting methods” in traditional Chinese figure painting for drawing the lines of the clothes. The lines are even in thickness, round and strong, shaping like iron wires, therefore, are called iron line. Depiction of the iron line sprang up around the dynasties of Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang, and might be introduced from the Western Regions to the central plains. It is used extensively in the murals of Khotan Buddhist temples and Qiuci grottoes. Zhang Yanyuan in the Tang Dynasty described in ‘*The Record of Famous Paintings of All Dynasties*’ that the painting skills of the Khotan painter Yuchi Yiseng, who moved to the central plains, “used tight and strong strokes in small places, like winding iron wires, and he sprinkled ink with mettle in big places,” where “winding iron wires” refers to iron line depicting. Whether iron line depicting was originated from Yuchi Yiseng, or it was affected by the Indian traditional painting techniques, there is lack of evidence and cannot be determined.

v2.c11.s4.t1.23

Ancient Indian Painting Technique

v2.c11.s4.t1.24

The Indian Painting Technique introduced from India is also called the concave and convex method. The concave and convex method is one of the traditional painting techniques of India. The concave and convex method was widely used in the murals of the Ajanta Caves in India. This method in Indian traditional paintings was also introduced in China across central Asia, which is called “Indian Technique” in Chinese painting history. Chinese scholar Xiang Da said, “Both Indian and Chinese paintings give priority to the lines. But Indian painting adds the concave and convex method in the lines to present a three dimensional sense in a flat surface. For the figures painted, such as the arms, contour lines are clean and lively, deep colours are added along the lines, which change gradually to soft and light internally, forming a round shape. This is what is called the concave and convex method. The Ajanta and Sigiriya Caves in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) all used this method to show light and shade. The Indian painting was introduced in China; the most notable and worth praising part of it is also

v2.c11.s4.t1.25

Dunhuang murals during the northern Wei Period in China. It is preserved in cave number 254 of Mogao caves.

v2.c11.s4.t1.26

A fresco painting from Dunhuang dating from the southern and northern dynasties of the Wei Period in China. It depicts the Jātaka Tales of the ‘birth of a deer in nine colours’. It is preserved in cave number 257 in Mogao grottoes.

v2.c11.s4.t1.27

this concave and convex method, going in the same channel of western painting introduced in China in Ming and Qing Dynasties.” (*Civilization of Chang’an and the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty*). The flowers painted with the concave and convex method are called “concave-convex flowers”. Zhang Sengyou, painter in the Liang era of the Six Dynasties dynasty, once painted at Yicheng Temple in Jiankang (now Nanjing), “Concave and convex flowers are painted all over the door of the Temple, therefore it is the personal painting of Zhang Sengyou. His flowers are painted with the skills inherited from Tianzhu, formed with red, blue, and green. When looking from a distance, people will get dizzy by the concave and convex effect; and when seeing near, people can see they are flat. Everyone believed it to be marvellous. Thus it is called Concave and Convex Temple.” [‘*Records in Health*’ (Jiankang)]. Yuchi Yiseng, painter from Khotan (now Khotan) in the early Tang Dynasty, also painted “concave-convex flowers” at Ci’en Temple in Chang’an (present day Xi’an), and ‘*Vanquishing Demons*’ and other murals in Puxian Hall of Guangzhai Temple, “three transformed witches as if the bodies appearing out of the wall.” The origins of these painter’s works are nowhere to be found today, and now only the ruins of early murals in Kezier Caves and Dunhuang Caves show some signs of the “Indian Technique”. But the concave and convex method in the murals of Kezier Caves and Dunhuang Caves, compared with that in the murals of the Ajanta caves, are more simplified and rough; the muscle blocks, lines, and colors are stiffly segmented, and the white “highlights” in the face, eyes and nose are more similar to the facial makeup. After Sui and Tang Dynasties, the traces of “Indian Technique” in Chinese painting gradually faded out. In the presentation of the concave and convex of the skins, cheek shading replaced sideline shading, and the curiosity for cubical techniques gave way to the pursuit of brush and ink techniques.

v2.c11.s4.t1.28

Gandhara Art

v2.c11.s4.t1.29

Gandhara art is a style of Buddhist art that flourished from the 1ˢᵗ to 5ᵗʰ century in Gandhara in the northwest of ancient India (now Peshawar in Pakistan). As a genre, Gandhara art extended far beyond historical and geographical boundaries to cover present northwest Pakistan and the

v2.c11.s4.t1.30

Rock cut art from Gandhara

v2.c11.s4.t1.31

neighbouring east Afghanistan. In a broad sense, Buddhist art in the Peshawar valley on the western bank of the Indus River, Taksasila (or Taxila) on the east bank, Swat valley on the north, Hadda and Begram in the upper reaches of the Kabul River, and Bamiyan in the west of Afghanistan all can be included under Gandhara art.

v2.c11.s4.t1.32

Gandhara, allegedly one of the 16 kingdoms in ancient India came to be ruled by the Persian Empire in the latter half of 6ᵗʰ century BCE. It was invaded by Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia, in 326 BCE and put under governance of his general Seleucus, while in 305 BCE, the Mauryan Emperor

v2.c11.s4.t1.33

Stone sculpture from Gandhara depicting the birth of Buddha (1ˢᵗ-2ⁿᵈ century CE).

v2.c11.s4.t1.34

recovered it. Ashoka once sent a monk named Majjhantika to promote Buddhism in Gandhara. In about 190 BCE, Gandhara was conquered by Greco-Bactrians (Bactria, or called as "Daxia" in Chinese history) and was subject to a rising impact of Hellenistic culture. Around 2ⁿᵈ century BCE, Yuezhi, a nomadic group, which once lived in Dunhuang and Qilian Mountain in China, being hard pressed by the Huns, moved westward and seized Gandhara. In the early 1ˢᵗ century, one of five Yuezhi tribes, the Kushan, led by Kujula Kadphises, established the Kushan Empire in the valley of Kabul River (1ˢᵗ-3ʳᵈ century). In about 60 CE, the Kushan King Vima Taktu conquered Gandhara and Mathura in northern India. The King Kanishka moved the centre of power from central Asia to Gandhara, and Purushapura (now Peshawar) became the capital. Kanishka was a worshipper of Zoroastrianism and a patron of the Buddhist faith, and constructed a great number of stupas, monasteries, Buddha and Bodhisattva statues of Greco-Roman style in Gandhara, and there Buddhist art began to flourish. In about 241 CE, the Sassanids invaded Gandhara and seized Peshawar, and the Kushan Empire collapsed. At the end of the 4ᵗʰ century, the remnants of the Kushan Empire for a time was revived by a Kushan vassal named Kidara. In 1849, the British found Gandhara sculptures in Punjab. Since the 20ᵗʰ century, archaeologists across the world have made excavations in Gandhara and neighboruing area, and Gandhara art has been gradually unveiled. Since it arose from a merger of Oriental and Occidental culture, and in particular, it is concerned with the origin of Buddha statues, in the past over 100 years, it has been a focus of study, discussion and dispute for scholars in western as well as eastern countries.

v2.c11.s4.t1.35

Early Buddhist art in India, such as relief sculptures found in Bharhut and Sanchi, only used bodhi tree, pedestal, dharma wheel, footstep and other symbols to hint the existence of Buddha, who was never present in human form, because primitive Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism opposes idolatry, and considers Buddha to be liberated from reincarnation and not to appear in human form. While, under the Kushan rule, Mahayana Buddhism flourished and deviated from the simple atheism of primitive Buddhism, and turned Buddha into a superman or a personalised deity, and such a change is consistent with a Greek tradition of anthropomorphism that had prevailed in Gandhara for hundreds of years. Kanishka adopted a conciliatory policy of religion, and artists in Gandhara began to break the taboo of early Buddhist art. They followed Greco-Roman traditions, imitated statues of Greco-Roman gods, directly produced statues of human-form Buddha, and thus created Hellenised-style Gandhara sculpture. If a simple formula is used, Gandhara sculpture is the sum of Hellenised human portrait and Indian symbols. Generally in Gandhara art, the Buddha looks as handsome as Apollo, with deep eye sockets, high-bridged nose, thin lip, long ears, curved hair and simple pattern behind him, and wearing a toga-like garment. Such statues are called “Apollo-style statues” or “Toga-wearing statues”. Their mudra and asana follows an Indian tradition. Usually, abhaya mudra is used for a standing statue, and dhyana mudra or dharmachakra mudra for a sitting statue, and padmasana is a major form of asana. Bodhisattva statues include Prince Siddhartha, Maitreya and Avalokitesvara and have a mixture of Indian and European style. Gandhara also has statues of Greek, Roman and non-Buddhist Indian deities, such as Athena, Achelous, Atlas, Cupid, Pañcika and Hariti, which has a clear Hellenistic tint. Arising from a mixture of Indian Buddhism and Hellenistic art, Gandhara

v2.c11.s4.t1.36

Gandharan art on stone sculpture, depicting Śākyamuni in severe asceticism, from 3ʳᵈ century CE.

v2.c11.s4.t1.37

art is also called as “Greek-Buddhist art”, “Roman-Buddhist art” or “Greco-Roman Buddhist art”, and its masterpieces include *A Standing Buddha*, *A Sitting Buddha*, *The Birth of Buddha*, *Prince Bodhisattva* and '*The Ascetic Sakya*'.

v2.c11.s4.t1.38

Gandhara art can be divided into early and late period. The early period lasted from early 1ˢᵗ century to mid 3ʳᵈ century during the Kushan rule, and the late period extended from mid 3rd century to late 5th century (or 7th or 8th century as alleged by some scholars) during the Sasanian and Kidarite rule. The early period is represented by reliefs of the life of the Buddha, and statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva that were carved in stone from the 1ˢᵗ to 3ʳᵈ century in Peshawar, Taxila, Swat and Begram, while the late period is mainly represented by stucco sculptures from the 4ᵗʰ to 5ᵗʰ century in Taxila and Hadda. Gandhara art, especially its statues of Buddha, went along the Silk Road into Xinjiang and China inland, then moved eastward into Korea and Japan, and provided the earliest model of Buddha statues for the Buddhist art in the Far East.

v2.c11.s4.t1.39

Gandhara art includes sculptures as well as paintings, but the latter have not been found for more

v2.c11.s4.t1.40

A Gandhara style sculpture of Greek Goddess Athena

v2.c11.s4.t1.41

than 100 years. From 2002 to 2004, Department of Archaeology in Pakistan discovered some fragments of Buddhist mural in the course of excavating Jinna Wali Dheri, a Buddhist monastic complex of 3ʳᵈ to 5ᵗʰ century at a village 10 km northwest from Taxila Museum. This is the only site of Gandhara painting discovered in the area of Gandhara so far. These murals depict Buddha, Bodhisattva and sacrifice provider in various postures, with black, red, deep brown, blue and other colors to the white stucco wall, with shape of human figures similar to that of Ajanta murals and colours very close to the receding-and-protruding technique of traditional Indian painting. These are very important and valuable for studying Gandhara murals, traditional Indian murals and their relationship with murals in the neighbouring areas, including Buddhist murals in Xinjiang of China.

v2.c11.s4.t1.42

(*Wang Yong*)

v2.c11.s4.t1.43

Gupta Art

v2.c11.s4.t1.44

Gupta art is the art of Gupta Dynasty (320-550 CE) in India, including Buddhism art and Hinduism art in Gupta era, among which Gupta Buddha statue gains the highest achievements and produces the largest influence.

v2.c11.s4.t1.45

Gupta Dynasty is an empire established by the Indians after the Maurya Dynasty. In the period of Chandragupta Vikramaditya (376-415 CE), political and military achievements were quite popular, and Chinese Buddhist Faxian in the Eastern Jin Dynasty met this prosperous period when he went to India for seeking sutras. Gupta Dynasty was the flourishing era of Indian classical culture, and was also the golden age of Indian classicism art. At that time, Buddhism art reached its heyday and Hinduism art also grew vigorously. Due to the rise of Hinduism, and because more kings of Gupta believed in Hinduism, Buddhism began to fall, but under the protection of religious policy in Gupta Dynasty, Buddhist philosophy and art still continued to reach its peak. Asanga and Vasubandhu, Buddhist philosophers in the Gupta era, have fully established Mahayana Yogacara,

v2.c11.s4.t1.46

the traditional Divine Buddha statue in Mathura. This Buddha statue looks vigorous and hard, powerful and courageous, with robust and exposed body being emphasised, and is different from the Buddha statue with Greek style in Gandhara. Mathura-style Buddha statue engraving during the Gupta era is further localised and idealised. Under the guidance of classical aesthetic ideal in India, many Gupta Mathura-style Buddha statues were created, with features of an Indian face. These Buddha statues’ eyebrows are slender, like a reversed figure of eight; eyes are downward, with

v2.c11.s4.t1.47

[Figure: A standing image of the Buddha in red sandstone from the Gupta Period, excavated from Mathura.]

v2.c11.s4.t1.48

[Figure: Partial Buddha statue (red sandstone) from Gupta Era]

v2.c11.s4.t1.49

namely, consciousness-only philosophy, and they advocated that “everything shall be consciousness-only” and “there is no external environment, only internal consciousness.” In order to adapt to the introverted and profound trend of consciousness-only philosophy, the modeling of Buddha statue in the Gupta era was also deeply influenced by the spirit of meditation - Buddha statues lower their eyes and focus on their inner world. Being different from the Buddha statues with Greek style in Gandhara in the Kushan era, Gupta era followed the local classical aesthetic ideal, and created the Buddha statue in pure Indian style. Two centres of engraving in the Gupta era are: Mathura and Sarnath, and there were two local styles of Gupta Buddha statue - Mathura style and Sarnath style, which represented the highest achievement of Indian classical art.

v2.c11.s4.t1.50

Mathura is located on the west bank of Yamuna river, which is the tributary of the Ganges river in Uttar Pradesh, India. In 6th century BCE, it was the capital of Surasena, which is one of the 16 kingdoms in ancient India, and became the east capital of Kushan Dynasty. Together with Gandhara in the northwest, they were two major centres of Kushan art. Buddha statue engraved from red sandstone in Mathura during the Kushan era was created mainly by referring to the local Buddha statue, especially

v2.c11.s4.t1.51

the expression of meditation; the bridge of the nose is straight, lower lip is thick, earlobes are long and rectangular; three crease lines are in the neck, and mound of flesh is neat, dextral and spiral hair, with gigantic and luxuriant halo, tall and symmetrical stature. Shoulder-covering cassock is thin, being as translucent as being soaked with water, and its folds are usually the parallel U-shape or V-shape lines, with the fluctuating rhythm of flowing water, highlighting the outline of the body. According to the translucent effect of such a thin cassock, Gupta Mathura-style Buddha statue is also known as “Wet-cassock Buddha statue,” with masterpiece of *Standing Mathura-style Buddha Statue*.

v2.c11.s4.t1.52

A bust of Buddha from Gupta Era

v2.c11.s4.t1.53

Sarnath is located in the northeast suburb of Varanasi (known as Benares earlier) in the midstream of river Ganges in Uttar Pradesh, India, and is the

v2.c11.s4.t1.54

[Figure: A wood carving of seated Buddha dating from the 5th century CE, unearthed in Xinjiang Province, China.]

v2.c11.s4.t1.55

holy land of Dharmachakra Pravartana according to the legend. Buddha statues in Mathura during the Kushan era had been donated to Sarnath Monastery by Balabiqiu. During the Gupta era, Sarnath and Mathura were listed as two major centres of Gupta art. Based on the Buddha statue engraved from the gray Chunaer sandstone, Sarnath created Gupta Sarnath-style Buddha statue. In the modeling, Gupta Sarnath-style Buddha statue was basically same as the Gupta Mathura-style Buddha statue, such as the Indian appearance, downward eyes for meditation, straight nose and thick lips, rectangular and long ears, three crease lines in the neck, neat and spiral hair, luxuriant halo and symmetrical stature. The difference was that the cassock of Sarnath-style Buddha statue is thinner than that of Mathura-style Buddha statue, almost as completely transparent as glass, and several transparent folds can be seen on the neckline, cuffs and the edge of lower hem, and it looks naked at the first glance. According to the transparent effect of such a thin cassock, Gupta Sarnath-style Buddha statue is also known as “Naked Buddha statue”, with masterpiece of *Sitting Sarnath-style Buddha Statue* (another name *Buddha Preaching at Sarnath*).

v2.c11.s4.t1.56

Gupta art, especially Gupta-style Buddha statue, produces more profound influence on the Buddhism art of India and Asian countries than Gandhara-style Buddha statue. Amaravati in southern India, together with Gandhara and Mathura in northern India, is called three Indian major centres of Indian art. Amaravati art is thought to be one of the pioneers of Gupta art. During the Kushan Era, Amaravati has had Buddha engraved from white and green limestone, its modeling is similar with the local Mathura-style Buddha, with elliptical face, gentle outline, spiral hair, cylindrical stature, and folds of cassock being parallel intaglio lines. Amaravati Buddha statue directly affects the engraving of Sri Lanka Buddha statue. Sri Lanka was called Simhala in earlier times. The earliest Buddha statue in Sri Lanka was introduced from southern India in the 4th century CE. Around 6th century CE, Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Sri Lanka, had a Buddha statue engraved from dolomite, with a thin cassock of no creases, being completely transparent, naked body, and such a Buddha statue belongs to the typical Gupta Sarnath-style Buddha statue. The influence of Gupta Buddha statue also spreads in the Gandhara area. Among Gandhara art, plaster statues in meditation with a classic style in Taxila and Hada not only represent the revival of “non-Mediterranean Hellenism”, but it also express Indian classicism spirit of contemporary Gupta Buddha statues. U-shape folds of thin cassock of Buddha statue in grottoes of Bamiyan, Afghanistan is apparently derived from Gupta Mathura-style Buddha statue. After Gandhara art, the influence of Gupta art spread over Xinjiang and inland of China via Central Asia. Among the early Buddhist grottoes in Kizil, Dunhuang, Bingling Temple and Yungang of China, the influence from Gupta Buddha statue

v2.c11.s4.t1.57

[Figure: A standing image of Viṣṇu, dating from 5th century CE of the Gupta Period, excavated in Mathura]

v2.c11.s4.t1.58

upon Chinese Buddha statue is more profound, than from Gandhara Buddha statue both in depth and breadth. The painting technique “Caoyichushui” of Buddha statue of Cao Zhongda, a Chinese painter in the Northern Qi Dynasty, may also be inspired by Gupta Mathura-style Buddha statue.

v2.c11.s4.t1.59

For Hinduism art in the Gupta era, under the stimulus of Buddhism statues, the statues of Hinduism gods also rose. In the pursuit of balance and harmony of classicism, Gupta Hinduism statue also emphasised on the strength and dynamic state of the modeling, which gradually showed signs of changing from classicism to Indian Baroque style. Gupta Dynasty calls Vishnu, a Hinduism god, as the patron saint, so there are more statues of Vishnu and its avatar, with master works including Mathura engraving *Standing Statue of Vishnu*, high relief in Udayagiri Caves *Boar Avatar of Vishnu*, and high relief in Deoghar avatar temple *Lying Statue of Vishnu*, etc. In addition, there are many statues of Hindu god - Shiva and its symbols - Lingam and spouse Parvati.

v2.c11.s4.t1.60

An incarnation of Viṣṇu as a wild boar dating from 5th century CE of the Gupta Period, in cave number 5 at Udaygiri.

v2.c11.s4.t1.61

Painting in the Gupta era flourished. Kalidasa's poetic drama *Shakuntala* and long poems *Messenger of Clouds* describe the situation of Gupta paintings spreading from palace to the people. But Gupta paintings were more often painted on cotton cloth, palm leaves or plank, so they had already disappeared, and the paintings that remained in the Gupta era and late Gupta era could only be found in the frescoes of Ajanta Caves in the late period (about 450-650 CE), with the master works including Ajanta fresco *Nanda Becoming a Buddhist*, *Xudana Biography*, *Indra and Goddess*, *Bodhisattva Padmapani* and so on. Buddha statues of the Ajanta Caves in the late period are more Gupta Sarnath-style Buddha statues.

v2.c11.s4.t1.62

(*Wang Yong*)

v2.c11.s4.t1.63

Nimnonnata

v2.c11.s4.t1.64

Nimnonnata is a traditional painting technique in India. According to the terms in Indian ancient sutra *Lankavatara Sutra*, the traditional Indian painting techniques are generally divided into two kinds: one is animnonnata, namely, filling in the outline of people, animals or flowers with plain colour (like the plain strokes in Chinese painting) with a strong sense of adornment. The other is nimnonnata, namely, by means of shading of different colours, forming the layered change of bright and dark colours inside the outline of figures, with embossed stereoscopic impression. *Chitrasutra* in the *Vishnudharmottara* has even mentioned three specific ways of using nimnonnata: 1) patraja, namely, drawing the intersecting lines being similar with the ribs of a leaf; 2) vinduja, namely, marking many dark spots inside the outline; 3) airika, namely, painting dark colour in the edges of the outline, and light colour inward, producing the circular and convex feeling. Terms of nimnonnata in Pali are vattana and ujjotana. Vattana is to use colour to present the concave and convex of objects, including both shading of gradual change of colours and the strong contrast of plain colour blocks with different colours, and using a dark background to set off the main image with light background prospect (or vice versa). Ujjotana is to add white highlights on the face of figures in shading. Highlights mainly focus on protruding parts such as forehead, eyebrows, eyelids, the bridge of the nose, lips, chin, ears, and the white of the eyes is also painted with white colour, so are metals, pearls, gems and other decorations.

v2.c11.s4.t1.65

Nimnonnata of Indian traditional paintings and chiaroscuro of western traditional paintings both belong to the painting technique of presenting stereoscopic impression, but chiaroscuro usually needs a fixed light source, and produces various delicate changes of light and dark colours with the different degree of objects' lighting and backlighting.

v2.c11.s4.t1.66

Mural paintings in Ajanta grottoes, India

v2.c11.s4.t1.67

On the other hand, Indian nimnonnata is not restricted by any fixed illuminant, and changes with the outline of objects. Therefore, it is a subjective or stylised shade brushwork, especially the habit of adding white highlights in the fixed parts like the bridge of the nose has become a formulaic pattern. Indian nimnonnata and animnonnata are often used in one picture, with the exposed part of the body using concave and convex shading, and cassock using plain painting. In addition, among eight attributes mentioned in ‘*Chitrasutra*’, decrease (ksaya) and increase (vrddhi) are terms used to

v2.c11.s4.t1.68

A panoramic view of the Mogao caves at Dunhunag.

v2.c11.s4.t1.69

A part of a fresco from grotto number 1 at Ajanta caves, dating back to 600 CE in India.

v2.c11.s4.t1.70

express the relationship of wide in near distance, narrow in far distance and foreshortening, and the increase and decrease of line length can also present the concave and convex space.

v2.c11.s4.t1.71

Nimnonnata of Indian traditional paintings has even spread to other countries in south Asia and central Asia, and is also introduced in China. It is called “Tianzhu Yifa” in the Chinese painting history.

v2.c11.s4.t1.72

(*Wang Yong*)

Architecture

v2.c11.s4.t2.1

Dunhuang Caves

v2.c11.s4.t2.2

Dunhuang Caves (Dunhuang Shiku) is the Chinese Buddhist grottoes. It is a general name of the grotto groups in the area of Dunhuang, Gansu. The broad sense of Dunhuang Caves includes Dunhuang Mogao Caves, Western Thousand Buddha Caves, Anxi Yulin Caves, Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves and five temple grottoes in the north of Gansu Province; the narrow sense of Dunhuang Caves specifically means Mogao Caves. Mogao Caves is located in the cliff of the eastern side of Mingsha Mountain, 25 km southeast of present day Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. It was first built in the second Jianyuan year of the Former Qin Dynasty (366), and cut in succession from Northern Liang era Dynasty through to Yuan Dynasty. Now, there are 492 caves, about 2,400 coloured sculptures, and over 45,000 sq mt of murals. Of the grotto cluster in Dunhuang Caves, Mogao Caves were cut at the earliest with the largest size and the highest achievements.

v2.c11.s4.t2.3

Dunhuang was an important town on the ancient Silk Road, and the hub of Sino-foreign cultural exchanges. India Buddhist art was introduced into Dunhuang along the Silk Road through the western regions, therefore, the early Buddhist art in the Dunhuang Caves were permeated with the influence of the western region and Indian art. The shape and structure of early caves in Dunhuang can be divided into two styles – the Chan caves and the central tower caves. The Chan caves evolved from Indian Vihara (monk's dormitory) Buddhist caves, and the central tower caves derived from Indian Chaitya (Buddha Hall) caves, introduced into Dunhuang after the formation of the Western Regions. The early coloured sculptures of Dunhuang were also influenced by Indian Gandhara art and Gupta art.

v2.c11.s4.t2.4

The main image of a cross-legged Buddha in cave number 275 at Mogao caves of Dunhuang in Gansu, China.

v2.c11.s4.t2.5

For example, on the front wall of the main room of the 275ᵗʰ cave of the Mogao Caves in the Liang era of the Northern Dynasties was sculptured a Maitreya statue up to a height of 3 mt, feet crossed. The crossing feet posture was relatively popular in the Gandhara area, and the modelling of Maitreya was full of Gandhara sculpture style. On the north wall of the 259ᵗʰ cave of the Mogao Caves in the Wei era of the Northern Dynasties exists a statue of Buddha; the clothes of the Buddha is thin and stick to the body, obviously embodying the features of Mathura style Buddha figure in *Gupta*, India. The early murals of Mogao Caves in Dunhuang were

v2.c11.s4.t2.6

An image of Bodhisattva, a mural painting from the early period of the Tang Dynasty. The southern fresco belongs to cave number 57 at Dunhuang in Gansu Province.

v2.c11.s4.t2.7

mixed with Indian and Persian styles. The Buddha portraits of Dunhuang murals are generally dressed in a coat in exposed right shoulder style or through shoulder style. One kind of the clothes lines are thick in texture, with a trace of Gandhara sculpture; another kind are thin and stick to the body, referred to as "Cao's clothes out of the water", is a typical feature of the Mathura Buddha portrait in *Gupta*, India. The Bodhisattva generally wears Indian-style three-jewel coronet or splendid suma-mala of the Western Regions, big Persian scarf on the shoulder, jade necklace on the breast, and presents a slender body that shows the three fold style common in Indian art. This dress is a mixture of Indian and Persian customs. Compared to the flying Apsaras in Qiuci murals, the flying Apsaras in Dunhuang Caves are soft in profile, dynamic and lively, with long ribbons dancing in the air, as if the whole wall was moving in the wind. In early Dunhuang murals, some appeared as multi-headed and multi-armed Hinduism Dharmapala images, such as the Mahesvara with three heads and six arms riding a black ox on the north mural of the main shrine of the rear wall in the 285ᵗʰ cave (the Western Wei Dynasty) of Mogao Caves, four-armed Skanda riding on a peacock, Ganesha holding a trident with the head of an elephant and the body of the man, and Vishnu with three heads and six arms in the mural on the south wall. In the Dunhuang murals is also a method of Indian traditional paintings from the Western Regions, i.e., the concave and convex method, namely to show the three dimensional effect of the characters' skin through colour shading. The concave and convex method in India murals is to shade the depth of the same colour; after introduced into Qiuci, it changed back into single-sided shading, double-sided shading, rendering, superimposed shading and other techniques. After being introduced in Dunhuang, it changed into multi-layered superimposed circle shading, from light to dark with clear-cut colour gradations. The concave and convex method in Dunhuang Caves was mainly popular in the murals of the Northern Dynasties, and gradually disappeared in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

v2.c11.s4.t2.8

*(Wang Yong)*

v2.c11.s4.t2.9

Binglingsi Caves

v2.c11.s4.t2.10

Binglingsi Caves (Binglingsi Shiku) Chinese Buddhist caves. It is located in Xiaojishi Mountain 35 km southwest of Yongjing County, Gansu Province, cut in succession from the Western Qin and Northern Wei Dynasties through to the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Now there are 196 cave shrines, 776 statues, and 912 sq mt of murals. The 169ᵗʰ cave of Bilingsi cut in the Western Qin period (385-430 CE) is the most important. In 1963, in the 6ᵗʰ shrine on the north wall of the 269ᵗʰ Binglingsi cave discovered an ink inscription of "Made on March 24ᵗʰ, the first Jianhong year (420) in Xuanxiao." This is the earliest known inscription in Chinese caves. The shrine statues in the caves can be divided into stone carving, stone modelled clay sculpture, and clay sculpture. Most of them are a Buddha with a bodhisattva or a Buddha with two bodhisattvas by the side. The modelling is profound and primitive, the face is squarely rounded, the nose is straight, and the lips are thick, with a heavy Indian style. The standing Buddha clay sculpture in the 7ᵗʰ shrine of the east wall wears a thin cassock stuck to the body in the through shoulder style; the single line intaglio draws out U-shaped cloth lines, that shows the profile of the whole body as if soaked with water, closely resembling the Mathura style Buddha portraits. even in the folds on the edge of the cassock and the gorgeous light on the neck, except that the eyes are wide open rather than half closed and downward looking, lack of that meditation expression on the face of the Gupta Buddha figures. In the 23ʳᵈ shrine on the south wall are five seated Buddha in meditation, the clothes lines in a single line intaglio for through shoulder cassock all spreading in a radial pattern from under the left shoulder, which is obviously affected by the imitation of the Gandhara style of Buddha figures in the western regions. In the caves are painted a preaching scene, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, flying Apsaras, providers, and other murals in the Western Qin, of which the character modelling, colour, composition are similar to that of early Qiuci caves. Around 420 AD, when the 169ᵗʰ Western Qin Cave built shrines and modelled statues in Binglingsi Caves, the Mathura style Buddha figure in Gupta, *India* approached the mature and prosperous stage, while in faraway ‘*Gansu of China*’, the Buddha figures resembled the Indian Gupta style statues, which naturally made people think of the specific means or intermediation by which the influence of Gupta-style Buddha statues spread so quickly, and in turn helps to infer that the Gupta-style Buddha statues with unclear chronology may have been mature in the latter half of the 4ᵗʰ century. The painted Buddha sculptures remained in the 275ᵗʰ, 254ᵗʰ, 251ˢᵗ, and 259ᵗʰ early caves of Dunhuang Caves from the middle or the latter half of the 5ᵗʰ century continued the modelling mode of the Western Qin caves in Binglingsi with the influence of Gandhara Buddha or Gupta-style Buddha figures.

v2.c11.s4.t2.11

An image of the Buddha on the surface of Bingling monastery in Gansu, China.

v2.c11.s4.t2.12

Yungang Caves

v2.c11.s4.t2.13

Yungang Caves (Yungang Shiku) are Chinese Buddhist grottoes. It is located on the southern side of Wuzhou Mountain, 16 km west from Datong City, Shanxi Province, stretching 1 km from east to west. Now there are 53 caves, and more than 51,000 statues. Yungang Caves were cut mainly in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 - 534 CE), continuing from the first Heping year under the reign of

v2.c11.s4.t2.14

The colossal Buddha al fresco in cave number 20 at Yungang Grottoes.

v2.c11.s4.t2.15

Emperor Wencheng in the Northern Wei Dynasty (460 CE) to the fifth Zhengguang year of Emperor Xiaoming in the Northern Wei Dynasty (524 CE), and construction or renovation had also been conducted in later generations after the Northern Wei Dynasty.

v2.c11.s4.t2.16.1

The Northern Wei period when Tuoba family of the Xianbei nationality entered the central plains was the thriving period of Buddhist cave art in north China. Most of the emperors in the Northern Wei Dynasty worshipped the Buddhist doctrine. In 439 AD, Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty exterminated ‘Beiliang’, “Liangzhou was flat, the people migrated to Jingyi, and Sramana and Buddhists all moved east, thus the preaching of Buddhism increased,” (‘*History of Wei Dynasty - Annals of Buddhism & Taoism*’). The monks who moved from Liangzhou to the capital, Pingcheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty (now Datong, Shanxi), included Sramana Shixian from Ji Bin. He once served as a monk official, and carved or modelled Buddha statues imitating the image of the King of the Northern Wei on imperial orders. From 460-465 CE, the Zen monk Tanyao from Liangzhou succeeded Shixian as Sramana official, and suggested Emperor Wencheng of the Northern Wei “to cut the stone walls in the mountain on the Xiwuzhou frontier of the capital, and to dig five caves and engrave a Buddha statue in each, of which the highest 70 ft, the second highest was 60 ft, with spectacular carved decoration, matchless in the world,” (‘*History of Wei Dynasty* - *Annals of Buddhism & Taoism*’). This is the first phase of the Five Tanyao Caves in Yungang (the 16ᵗʰ, 17ᵗʰ, 18ᵗʰ, 19ᵗʰ, and 20ᵗʰ caves). The modelling plane of the five caves is horseshoe shaped with a dome roof;

v2.c11.s4.t2.16.2

generally mimicking the Indian oval shaped thatched cottage form. The big stone carving Buddha statues of the Five Tanyao Caves on one hand permeates the notion of “King is Buddha” in the Northern Wei Dynasty, emphasising the imperial dignity and personality characteristics of the imperial dignified manner from appearance, temperament, and decoration. On the other hand, the expression style of clothing lines in the modelling tradition of Gandhara Buddha statues or Gupta Mathura Buddha statues. The main statues of the Five Tanyao Caves are Buddhas of Three Periods, and the main Buddha is unusually tall. The standing statue of the main Buddha in the 18ᵗʰ cave is 15.5 mt tall, the sitting statue of the main Buddha in the 19ᵗʰ cave is 16.8 mt tall, and the sitting statue of the main Buddha in the 20ᵗʰ cave is 14 mt tall. These standing or sitting Buddha in the shrine-shaped cave are reminiscent of the big Buddha statues in Bamian or Qiuci. The modelling of the main Buddha statues have high rounded buns and plump faces, with two ears hanging to the shoulders, eyes seeing the distance, wide shoulder and thick chest, vigorous body profile, mostly in cassock with exposed right side. The clothing lines are neat and pattern-like, full of the features of the idealised image of the leader of the northern nationality in China.

v2.c11.s4.t2.16.3

The main Buddha in the 20ᵗʰ cave has high nose, deep eyes, thin lips, moustache, and flame-pattern neck light and back light, all embodying the characteristics of Gandhara Buddha statues, especially the Kapicsa style. The wavy hair of the main Buddha in the 16ᵗʰ cave also belongs to the legacy of Gandhara Buddha statues. On the either side of the main Buddha stands the follower Buddha figures, the appearances of which are the same with the main Buddha, but the clothing lines of the through-shoulder cassock inherit the U shape wave portraying method of the Buddha statues in Western Qin Cave of Binglingsi. Especially on the standing Buddha on the eastern wall of the 18ᵗʰ cave, and the standing Buddha on the western side of the southern wall of the 19ᵗʰ cave, the translucent thin through-shoulder clothing sticks close to the body, the U shape curve of clothing lines hangs down from his bosom, and the right hand seems to be posturing Abhaya Mudrā, closely resembles the Mathura style of Buddha statues. The disciple relief on the eastern wall of the 18ᵗʰ cave with deep eyes and high nose resembles the modelling of the strong facial expression of ‘*Khata’s*’ plaster statue.

v2.c11.s4.t2.16.4

In addition, in Yungang Caves, a lot of relieves depicting Bunsen stories and Buddha stories, the subject and the composition are similar with the relieves of the same kind in Gandhara area, and often the directions of the relief compositions of the same subject are opposite in the two places, therefore it is postulated that some of Yungang relieves may be the rubbings of Gandhara relieves.

v2.c11.s4.t2.17

Cave number 6 at Yungang Grottoes depicting Śākyamuni, Mañjuśrī, and Vairocana.

v2.c11.s4.t2.18

The main image of Buddha in cave number 5 at Yungang Grottoes.

v2.c11.s4.t2.19

Most of the basic manpower that sculpted the statues in Yungang Caves are the Liangzhou craftsmen who were familiar with the art of the Western Regions. On the eve of cutting the Five Tanyao Caves (455 CE), five people, including a Sramana from the Lion Kingdom (now Sri Lanka) and ‘*Buddhanandi*’, took the third Buddha statue to the capital (now Pingcheng), and Shale (present day Shule) Sramana went to the capital to present the Buddha’s bowl and painting portraits. These monks from various states in the Western Regions might also have contributed to the “Pingcheng pattern” statues of Yungang Caves. In the second half of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the “Pingcheng pattern” of Yungang Caves changed again and again. There appeared the modelling of clothing with ample clothes, broad belt, slim and a clear appearance; the influence of Gandhara art and Gupta art becomes increasingly weak, and the tendency of sinicisation is becoming more and more significant.

v2.c11.s4.t2.20

On both sides of the door of the 8ᵗʰ cave of Yungang Caves, cut in the early years under the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, carved the figures of Mahesvara - the three-head eight-arm Hindu Dharmapala - and five-head six-arm Skanda with peculiar modelling and unique style.

v2.c11.s4.t2.21

Qizil Caves

v2.c11.s4.t2.22

**Kezier Caves** (Kezier Shiku) are Chinese Buddhist grottoes. It is located in about 60 km east of Baicheng County, Xinjiang and 7 km southeast of Kezier Town. Cut in the cliff of the north bank of the Muzart valley, it has 236 numbered caves, of which 81 are relatively intact in shape and murals, mostly built in the 4^th to 7^th century. The Kuqa, Baicheng, Xinhe County area of Xinjiang is the ancient Qiuci area. Buddhism was introduced in Qiuci, which made

v2.c11.s4.t2.23

*A cave of a 1,000 Buddhas at Qizil*

v2.c11.s4.t2.24

it the centre of the Buddhist culture on the north path of the Silk Road. Qiuci Grottoes include Kezier Caves, Kumtura Caves, Simsim Caves, Kizilgaha Caves, etc., of which Kezier Caves are the earliest cut caves in China, and contain the largest size of Buddhist grotto group in Xinxiang. Unfortunately, the original painted statues have been destroyed, and only several pieces remain which were newly discovered after 1970.

v2.c11.s4.t2.25

The shape, structure and murals of Kezier Caves are clearly affected by Indian Gandhara art and Gupta art. The shape and structure of Kezier Caves have a kind of Gandhara style rectangular patio bucket roof. The bucket top architectural form is common in Central Asia and West Asia area. Today, this kind of patio can also be seen in the sitting room of residential houses in Karakax County, Khotan. The early murals in Kezier Caves in Qiuci took portraits of Buddha, bodhisattva and large scale Buddha stories as the main theme, which is very close in the theme content and number to Gandhara Buddha stories, and the portraits of Buddha, bodhisattva and the image of nature and of man also have many similarities with the 3^rd century Gandhara statues. The 76^th cave of Kezier is deeply affected by the Gandhara art; the Buddhist story

v2.c11.s4.t2.26

*The fresco in cave number 38 in the Kezier grottoes, depicting Prince Xudana offering as charity his son and daughter. This picture on the surface is the story as portrayed in the Xudana Sūtra, preserved at the Berlin Museum in Germany.*

v2.c11.s4.t2.27

in the mural ‘*The birth of the Buddha*’ is the same in the picture composition with and the Gandhara relief of the Buddhist story ‘*The birth of the Buddha*’ in the 3^rd century, in which Mahamaya standing under the Sala tree with his right hand holding the branch and legs crossing naturally. Another mural of a Buddhist story, ‘*The Witch Luring Buddha*’ in the cave portrays the image of a haggard Sakyamuni, which is surprisingly similar in the profiling of the Gandhara relief ‘*Ascetical Sakyamuni*’ of the 3^rd century. Gupta art in India in 6^th century also had a great influence on grotto art in Qiuci area. In the left wall of the rear room of the 69^th cave of Kezier, there is a portrait of a standing Buddha, the lines of the cassock drawing the outline of the profile of the Buddha, mirroring the thin clothes close to the body in the Mathura style of Buddha portrait in Gupta era. The Bhiksu portrait in the inner wall of the paved path of the 175^th cave of Kezier particularly emphasises the presentation of the human body, which presents a transparent effect, and this is just the most typical characteristics of Sarnath-styled Buddha portrait. On the front wall of the main room of the 83^rd cave is a dancing girl in the mural of the King Udayana story, exhibiting a graceful S-shaped three-fold posture, which mirrors the Indian dancers in the murals of the Ajanta Caves.

First 102 of 223 passages. Read on

Linked texts (13)