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his captivating figure of the Buddha was carved in the sculptural style prevalent in the
mid-sixth century, firmly rooted in the Eastern Wei (543-550) period with some hints
Tof the cosmopolitan influences that would mark the style of the second half of the 6th
century. It is extremely rare to find such a well-preserved figure, whose face is rendered with a gentle
smile incarnating the bliss of enlightenment. The simple clothing worn by this Buddha echoes the
modest robes worn by the historical Buddha when he reached enlightenment after an intense period of
meditation.
Although Buddhism arrived in China as early as around the 1st century AD, it was only embraced as
a religion by a larger proportion of the population from the 4th century onwards. In the 5th and 6th
centuries the number of Buddhist temples, monasteries and nunneries in China increased dramatically.
With the move of the Northern Wei capital to Luoyang in Henan province in 494, the Luoyang region
became one of the main centers of the propagation of Buddhist imagery. By the end of the Wei dynasty
an estimated 1,367 Buddhist temples are said to have existed in and around Luoyang alone (see the
catalogue to the exhibition, Return of the Buddha. The Qingzhou Discoveries, Royal Academy of Arts,
London, 2002, p. 24). Buddhist temples at the time were lavishly laid out and appointed, much like
palace halls, and the aristocracy and rich merchants vied with each other in making generous pious
donations to Buddhist institutions.
Fine Buddhist sculpture was, however, not a monopoly of Luoyang and its surroundings. In Shandong
province, the Qingzhou region appears to have been another major production center for Buddhist
sculpture, with limestone quarries located close by. The Shandong peninsula had only been annexed
by the Wei in 469, and – as in other Wei-controlled areas – Buddhism began to flourish there in the late
5th century. The discovery of a carefully buried hoard of Buddhist sculptures at the site of Longxing
Temple in Qingzhou, which has brought to light an immense number of 6th century stone sculptures,
has demonstrated that the workshops of the region were among the main suppliers that catered to the
rapidly growing demand in Buddhist images at that time.
᱙৮ᒏݣנឬښ̓㈭͚㥶҈䕍Ⰸ㵹ὐᐼ喑ₑ䶋䷕ ᰶ䓾̭ࡰ̶⮫ښ̰Ꮤ҈ᄧ喍ࣰ㜗ȨReturn of the
ᵩ䕍ВᲞ偼̭◧А㶕喑䯳ऱౝ䕍䪤喑㲺ᰰ䇘 Buddha The Qingzhou Discoveriesȩ喑⮴უ㬊㶀
䕇喑㜠ښ̓㈭̸ࡷ㥶䋕⛌ȡₑᄷ҈₤ࡰ久䐶⡣ Ⴅ䮏喑᪓喑2002Ꭱ喑䴮24喎ȡ҈స≈䮪ᄧ䮏็
ԊႅႹ喑㿍◧ज䇡喑䰂҈⺃䲏ღহ喑〾䲕⏘ ◧ᄵϧᠴ≫✌ᐧ喑䮠㽚ຏ㤜ჹ叄喑䛾ݻ㜴䱵झ℁倅喑
㬦喑क़ᙵᗟȠ̷ᮧᗲ䴨喠㶐㶺ㅎ㉍䈗ὥ喑̺⺮᪆ ᐐ⃬ڞ䭬ᝬぶผ喑⢸ڙጕ䇵〣Ⱕӈ喑ᚤᚕȡ
ϧចᘠ䛸䔓➌ᅩےᕊڒჇ㔹ᗌ䖀҈᭯㶐㦄Ⱕ䆹ȡ
䮑≈䮪ౝ喑ᆞᲞ䱿ጋࣵ◧̭҈᪆㬊㶀㸪҉͚ᓰ喑ڣ
㈱ڙٰ̭̓㈭喑҈᪆Ӭጟנڒ͚స喑♣Ⱑ㜠ఈ̓㈭В ক⩏ⴠ▝ᇖ喑ܧ৮҈䈗䛼̷΅ȡڙٰ469Ꭱ喑ࡄ偼
ᒹ喑⑥䷕⅐喑Ԏᒿᬒ喠㜠ρȠښ̓㈭ॵ㨙߰ ᨡౌ㜠ᆞᲞࡷሣ喑㋀᪥䐶喍ῤ㈭᱘喎喑҈∂Ӭጟ
㜵ᬧࠏ喑᠈ ℁喑ᄣඁ伏㒲喑ؔ䮏ȠᅩᏢᭌ㒲 ᮛ⚔ₑౝȡ䱿ጋ咺㜵ᄧ⿃㫼ᰫܧౌ๔ឦښ̓㈭᭯҈
᷸ጰȡڙٰ494Ꭱࡄ偼䖤䘪⇠ࢄ≈䮪喑ₑᒹϙፘӬ◧ 䕍喑䋠䁶⪣᭯҈᪆㜵Ⰸࠏ喑Вࣷ䱿ጋ◧҈ͨ㺮
҈᪆נ᧚͚ᓰ喠ࡄ偼᱘喑ग≈䮪ࣷڣক䖷ౝӬ 㸪҉Ƞӈᛶౝȡ
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