Page 46 - jingyatang sculptures march2018

The Sui Dynasty emperors used Buddhist faith and major building projects, including the ⑏᱘㉈❚喑᝝▘䰟䰟喑₤̶⮫久䐶喑㜠๔
construction of pagodas, temples, and religious statuary, as means of unifying an empire 䮸᫦᜽̭㊞ȡ䮸͸݊⿸喑๖̸᱗⾖喑ፊͨ
that had been fragmented for over three centuries. At the same time, they led expansionist
҈᪆喑๔㜵ౌ᱕喑ᐐᐧඁᄧᐌႴ喑ВჇℾ
campaigns along China’s western and northeastern borders. These actions signi" cantly
ᓰȡह᭯๔䫷⪳ౌ喑䪸㺬ഌȠᲞࡄ͸సධȡ
impacted Chinese Buddhist practice in several ways which are re% ected in religious art of
ₐ఍ຯₑ喑҈᪆ᓄВ๔፲⮩ᆂ喑͓ٲࣺܳ᭍
the period. For instance, the political and social turmoil that accompanied dynastic changes
th
in the 6 century led to the rise of a variant form of Pure Land Buddhism, in which devotion ݝₑ᭯᱌҈᪆㬊㶀⪣͚ȡڙٰښ̓㈭喑ᩬ⇨
to Amitabha (or a bodhisattva, such as Avalokiteshvara) allowed adherents to be reborn in ࠂⰗ喑స᱊䂷ᰡ喑ӰҬ⌕ౌ҈Ⴤᨡᑢ⮩ᆂ喑
Sukhavati, the Western Paradise of the Buddha Amitabha. Consequently, images of bod- 䮑Ԏ๶䭬ᑹ䭭҈喑ϓӈ๶㻭䴠㤖㫖ぶ喑Ⅿज
hisattvas proliferated in the Sui dynasty, as evidenced by the present and numerous con- ᒭ⩌㺬᫦ẢἯȡₐ఍ຯₑ喑䮸᱊㤖㫖ᒏ䆎ᐐ
temporaneous examples. The Sui emperors’ religio-political agenda also led to increased ऄᣕሴ喑ຯ㺸᱙৮ࣷह᱌҉Ҹȡ䮸ፊВ҈⇨
communication across eastern Eurasia, which contributed to the transmission of Buddhist స喑Ӱ䕟͚స㜴Პ⁽ϋ๔䮥㖜㎘喑҈᪆Ⴤ≫
concepts and artistic styles from South and Central Asia into China and from China to Ko-
ࣷ҈᪆㬊㶀䷕ᵩᓋࢄϋȠ͚ϋנڒ͚స喑㎩
rea and Japan. This had the concurrent e* ects of diversifying the visual vocabulary of each
㜠䴀సࣷᬒ᱙喑ҬऱౝౕԊ⪆㜗䏘䷕ᵩ͸
region of the empire, while preserving established characteristics in production.
ใ喑ϓजᣒ㼥҈᪆㬊㶀͸็ٰ䷕䆹ȡ
The present sculpture is sumptuously carved with the attributes of Avalokiteshvara, the
᱙৮㻭䴠仃׼喑䰂ጒ㉝㛖喑䕍ಸ䯺䯲喑䯳๔
bodhisattva of compassion, known in China as Guanyin. The head is characterized by % eshy
features that harmonize the Sui dynasty’s emergent trend toward naturalism with the in- ᜽͸҉喑䋠㺸⪣᭯҈䰂͸᜽⛌喑ࡍ㔲ጒ㬊͸
herited idealized forms that conventionally conveyed the purity of Buddhist subjects. Here, ࢀ㊂ȡ㻭᱙׼喑䲏ღᙵᄔ喑⺋ᙸᎠহ喑䆹䋕
Avalokiteshvara’s broad arched brows and the sweep of the lowered lids lead the eye down 㜗♣喑ۍ丫㍮㍌喑ڤ䮸䷕喑ϓឬݺ᱊䖧䴨喑
the straight nose to the plump lips and slightly upturned chin, before following the softened Ⰾ䶜҈䵼㢷௡₷㖃ȡ
jawline to the plump cheeks and returning upward to the crown of the head. The full oval
ᆞᲞ䱿ጋܧౌࡄ呷ࣷ䮸҈⿸׼喑䲏ღۍ丫䷕
face is counterbalanced above by a tall diadem richly carved with an image of the Buddha,
% oral features, wave-like borders, and streaming tassels in a combination of high relief and ᵩ㜴᱙׼Ⱕ䶋喑ज҉ह⎽͸ѽ䁶ȡࣰ㔰̭
openwork detail. Even in its opulence, the diadem follows the standard Sui formula of a 䮸А㻭䴠׼喑䱿ጋ咺㜵ᄧܧౌ喑䠱 Denise
three-sided structure with aesthetic attention given to its band. These traits suggest that Patry Leidy ࣷ Donna Strahan喑ȨWisdom
the head belongs to a mature phase of Sui artistic production, when craftsmen synthe- Embodied Chinese Buddhist and Daoist
sized styles from within and beyond China into graceful yet dynamic compositions that Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of
expressed the transcendental majesty of the Buddhist subject. Artȩ喑㈽㈱喑2010Ꭱ喑ృ13喠ϓ㺸̭Ⱕ䶋
Excavations at Qingzhou (Shandong) have yielded Northern Qi and Sui limestone stand- ࡄ呷㤖㫖׼喑䐶ȨᆞᲞ䱿ጋ咺㜵ᄧܧౌ҈᪆
ing bodhisattvas, detailed with polychrome pigments and gilding, that similarly bear full, 䕍׼ᆂȩ喑仆⍜㬊㶀乕喑仆⍜喑2001Ꭱ喑
oval faces crowned by intricate diadems with petaled lobes, pendent tassels, and articu- ㌕㮌69ȡⰥ䶋ۍ丫䷕ᵩ喑ϓ㺸᫩ݺ᱊ࡄ呷
lated bands, suggesting a geographic and cultural origin for this style of carving; for a Sui 䕍׼Ҹ喑ᛶܧ㜗ᆞ㺬㺬䘕ᝃ䮊㺬喑㈱ڙٰ

44 JINGYATANG: TREASURES OF CHINESE BUDDHIST SCULPTURE