Buddhist sculpture began around the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The early Buddhist art, such as the Yungang Grottoes, still has an Indian style.

Pottery Buddha statues of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Buddha sculptures and color paintings in Buddhist temples are a major feature of Buddhist culture. Buddhism attaches great importance to the image education that combines education with art. Sculpture, as a three-dimensional painting in a three-dimensional space, was already well developed before Buddhism was introduced to China. The superb craftsmanship of Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Warriors and Horses is clear evidence. After the introduction of Buddhist sculpture art to China, it further enriched China's sculpture skills. Buddhism was introduced from India to China around the time of the Han Dynasty, and Buddhist sculptures were introduced from India earlier. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Prime Minister Zuorong of Xiapi built a large-scale Buddhist temple, which was said to be able to accommodate more than 3,000 people. It also housed statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas wearing brocade clothes and copper-coated gold. This was the first time a Buddhist temple was built in China. The beginning of Buddhist sculpture.

Buddha statues in Yungang Grottoes

During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, there were two famous painters, Dai Kui and Dai Yong, father and son. They were famous sculptors at that time. Their main contributions were in the sculpture of Buddha statues. It played a pioneering role in the process of Chineseization of Buddhist statue styles. In order to adapt his sculpture style to the aesthetics of most people, Dai Kui once hid behind the curtain to listen to the public's praise and criticism of the merits and demerits of the Buddha statues, and adopted their reasonable suggestions to improve his creations. Dai Yong participated in the sculpture activities of Buddha statues when he was young, and was the most famous sculptor at that time. Once, Waguan Temple cast a 16-foot-tall bronze Buddha statue. After the statue was completed, people felt that the face was too thin. When the craftsmen were at a loss, they invited Dai Yong. After seeing the Buddha statue, he said: "It's not that the face is too thin, but that the face is too thin." It’s because the proportion of the shoulders is too wide.” This modification has indeed achieved the desired effect. According to historical records, Dai Yong was the first person to apply Chinese painting techniques to Buddhist statues. He and his son made great efforts to convert Indian-style Buddha statues into Chinese-style Buddha statues.

Buddha statues in Yungang Grottoes

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, it became common for princes and ministers in the government and the public to believe in Buddhism. In order to promote Buddhism, the government ordered mountains to be cut in many places. Cliffs, grottoes were dug, and Buddha statues were carved. Most of the initial shapes of Buddha statues were based on the portraits of Buddha brought by Indian monks. The initial craftsmanship of cave statues was basically in the imitation stage. If you look carefully at the Buddha statues in Yungang Grottoes, you can see that their clothes are basically Indian clothes. The Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan are two famous grottoes. These magnificent and exquisite statues not only inherit the style of traditional plastic arts since the Qin and Han Dynasties, but also have the characteristics of Indian Buddhist art. It should be said that this is the result of the blending of Chinese and foreign cultures and arts.

Buddha statues in the Dunhuang Grottoes

If the early Buddha statues in the Grottoes still have an Indian style, then the Buddha statues after the Tang Dynasty represented by Dunhuang are basically Chinese. In terms of craftsmanship, Dunhuang colored sculptures are made of clay and wire, and then added with color. This is an innovation of ancient Chinese sculptors. During the period of Wu Zetian, the statues of Lushena Buddha in Fengxian Temple in Luoyang were close to people and quite realistic. You can imagine how charming it would be to place such a solemn Buddha statue among the green mountains, green water, smoke, villages, foggy trees, and the mountains and rivers! Although Buddhist temples are places for Buddhist activities, they are also places for people's cultural activities and the cultivation of aesthetic sentiments. The place. Once we connect it with the beautiful nature and human civilization, we will have a deeper understanding of its overall social aesthetics. It can be seen from this that Buddhist culture is an important source of traditional Chinese painting art that cannot be ignored.