Buddhist Sculpture

Buddhist sculpture began carving of the Buddha. According to the records by ahan by "Volume 28 and Tang Xi Yu Ji" Volume: original Buddhist era, Baqi Guoyou fill the king to Zhantan wood sculpture of a five feet of the Buddha image. This is the beginning of Buddhist sculpture statues.
Buddha into off hundred years later, the Indian Mauryan period of Ashoka, a large number of Buddhist sculptures. Ashoka inspired by Dharma, Dharma country, to establish pagodas, temples, grottoes, stone pillars, law Edict Buddhist sites throughout the country. The unearthed cultural relics, in addition to their artistic value of the test, according to Buddhist history, classic, there is a considerable contribution.
Kushan dynasty, Kanishka king devout Buddhism emulate Asoka, in the Gandhara region to build a large number of Sita, carving statues. The local long-term interaction with Greek culture and presents a strong Greek-style sculptures, be regarded as a combination of India and Greece aesthetic coordination, known as Gandhara Art. The same period there Mathura Luo art, mainly in the southern Mathura Luo, Gandhara art, but still retain more Indian native style, the former Buddha quiet and restrained, the latter powerful sound.
Until the fourth century AD, the Gupta dynasty, the golden age of Indian art, represented by works Achan Da Grotto. This period due to the intrusion of the Huns, both local and foreign cultural blending, the Indian art themselves freely mature.
Before the introduction of Buddhism, China has a high degree of sculpture, after incoming, and the blending of Chinese culture, develop deeper wide meaning, and rich treasure trove of sculpture, richly ornamented temple, statues, grottoes, Buddha sculpture and Buddhist carvings, including wood carvings, stone or clay statue of a typical representative.
Eastern Han Dynasty, by ZE financial construction of Buddhist temples, a temple has statues, is considered to be the earliest Buddha carving. Eastern Jin Dynasty, the sculpture is designed mainly statues prevailing fashion. Such as Masters Dao'an has in Xiangyang Tanxi Temple casting Zhangliu Shakya image of gold, and the support cast Zhangliu Shakya image of gold Hui nursing Shao Ling Monastery, Wu Jun, Dai Kui and his son was a the Huiji the Sanin LINGBAO Temple for Amitayus and threatened Bodhisattvas like.
After the Northern and Southern, with the spread of Buddhism, the Chinese sculptural style influenced by foreign style of traditional practices into Chinese sculpture from the subject matter to the art style, change into another new phase. Buddhist statue, stone carving, stone sculpture of this period. Western wild, uninhibited style of art is gradually introduced to China, the results of the Han and Western art integrated combination of architecture, sculpture, mural three off from this development in one of the cave art.
From the the sculpture style changes, we can see the development of Buddhism in China. Figure sculpture, for example, five Cave the Yungang Grottoes's Tan Yao, early statues tall and magnificent, with India Gandhara and the Gupta era art style is similar. To the Northern Wei Dynasty, on the one hand, because the time to implement Speaking of hand because Buddhism has gradually combined with people's lives, so in this case sculpture works with Chinese characteristics. Sui and Tang dynasties, art the most glorious era, financial and foreign culture and the Chinese tradition of sculpture colorful, beautiful, character modeling tall long shapely, honest and elegant, the performance of the health and joy of morphology.
To the Tang Dynasty, sculptures fully demonstrated the characteristics of Chinese-style statues. Many strange works of sculpture, most of them appear in the period of Empress Wu Empress Wu strong proponent of Buddhist statues, resulting in the Tang Dynasty Buddhist sculpture reached its peak. Emperor Xuanzong of Chinese Buddhist statues another golden age, the characteristics of the statues is full of life, vitality, sculpture technology has reached unprecedented levels of mature and perfect, which fully reflects the vigorous and imaginative flavor of the times. Chinese history, the famous sculptor Yang Hui's born into this time, his most representative works, there is the Jiangsu Wuxian Paul Ting Temple Lohan group portrait, Thousand Goddess of Mercy statue is his first open its side of the sculpture. The Bank said the the "Michiko painting, Keiko plastic, won Sengyao Magic Pen Road", their works widely been regarded of contemporary and future generations to emulate.
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the caves carved stone statues gradually been replaced by the prevalence monasteries around the clay sculpture, woodcarving. Yuan and Ming dynasties, the sculpture is deteriorating, to the Qing Dynasty carvings, interest was declining.
Others, such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and other places, there are quite mature Buddhist sculptures.