Chapter 13 Section 3: The Decoration of Buddhist Sculpture Techniques

Buddhism was introduced to China from the time of Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and statue-making activities also started in China.Among the various varieties of ancient Chinese sculpture, none is more influenced by foreign influences than Buddhist statues.And this influence mainly came from the Kushan and Gupta dynasties in India.Generally speaking, the Buddhist art of the Kushan Dynasty (Gandhara art) is a Greek-style art; the Buddhist art of the Gupta Dynasty is an Indian-style art.Therefore, the foreign influences on Chinese Buddhist sculpture can be simply attributed to Greek and Indian styles.The Chinese Buddhist sculptures produced by these influences still retain China's own characteristics, which are neither Greek nor Indian.In other words, Chinese Buddhist sculpture is neither full of philosophical speculation like Greek sculpture, nor full of carnal joy like Indian sculpture, and even the high realism shared by both of them is only to a certain extent. Buddhist sculpture accepted.Chinese Buddhist sculptures, like traditional Chinese sculptures, pursue something abstract and spiritual, that is to say, they prefer to pursue symbolism.Of course, this pursuit also has a process.Especially for the foreign art form of Buddhist sculpture, it can only be introduced, imitated, and dissolved, and finally find an art style suitable for the habits of the nation.In the process of pursuing Chinese-style Buddhist sculpture, Dai Kui of the Eastern Jin Dynasty played the most important turning role.Dai Kui, as a generation of celebrities, has a profound cultural accomplishment. His transformation of Buddhist sculptures can be summed up in the words "zao painting and carving".The so-called "algae painting carving" refers to the use of decorative methods mainly colored painting in the production of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the further improvement and improvement of carving techniques.Just as the understanding of ornamentation mentioned in the section on bronze sculpture, some thinkers in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods associated it with cultural relics, rules and regulations and moral cultivation.Wang Chong of the Han Dynasty thought from a philosophical point of view that "things are represented by literature, and people are based on literature" ("Lunheng"). "Revised Text").The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were a period in which the aesthetic function of "wen" was affirmed. For example, the book "Baopuzi" was discussed a lot.When talking about the style of carving and decoration that was popular in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the article "Jun Shi" said: "The ancients have always been mellow in everything, but today they are all carved and decorated. Time changes and changes, and it is natural." When talking about the role of decoration in improving aesthetic ability When it works, the chapter "Guang Bi" says: "If you don't see the brilliance of Qiongkun, you won't realize how cheap the rubble is; if you don't see [Di Di] the jade [yuyu] of tigers and leopards, you won't know the quality of dogs and sheep." . " There is a chapter "Pin Zao", which is dedicated to the excellent words and phrases of mutual criticism among literati.In addition, with the great development of painting, painting reviews, poetry reviews, and literary theories were published one after another, and the prosperity of "literature" in the Wei and Jin Dynasties can also be felt from this.Living in such an environment, it was natural for Dai Kui to use the method of "Zao painting and carving" to reform Buddhist statues.Dai Kui's previous Buddha statues have a kind of ancient and clumsy flavor.This phenomenon can be seen from early Buddhist sculptures such as stone carvings, pottery sculptures, and bronze Buddha statues in the Eastern Han Dynasty in Leshan, Pengshan, and Mianyang in Sichuan, and it can also be seen from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, and Yinan, Shandong. Seen in stone Buddha statues.Dai Kui believes that this form has no artistic appeal. He beautifies and processes the simple Buddhist sculptures to make them meet the artistic effect and religious requirements of "opening respect" and "moving the heart".Dai Kui once made a wooden statue of the Buddha of Infinite Life, "sitting in the tent, listening closely to the audience's comments, and studying the praise and criticism in detail. After three years of thinking, the statue was carved" ("History of Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties").It is precisely because he listened carefully to the opinions of all parties that he created Buddhist sculpture styles that conform to Chinese appreciation habits.At the same time, he carefully carved the sculpture itself to enhance the decorative effect and make the Buddha statue exquisite.Leading to a new style of Buddhist sculpture, "Taoism and customs pay homage, suddenly as if they met in person" ("Fayuan Zhulin").Zhang Yanyuan of the Tang Dynasty spoke highly of Dai Kui's transformation in "Famous Paintings of Past Dynasties", and believed that it was because of Dai Kui's foundational role that Cao Zhongda in the Northern Qi Dynasty, Zhang Sengxu (yao Yao) in the Liang Dynasty, Wu Daozi in the Tang Dynasty, and Zhou Dynasty Fang [Fang Fang], etc., through the inheritance and development of Dai Kui's achievements, created some new schools of Buddhist art.

The Sinicization of Buddhist sculpture is not only reflected through a certain work, but most importantly through the evolution process of a whole batch of works.For example, by comparing the Yungang Grottoes with the Longmen Grottoes, we can clearly see that in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Buddha statues in the Longmen Grottoes have a clear face, slender figure, and elegant clothing, which is quite a literati style; The Buddha statues in the Yungang Grottoes have tall noses and big eyes, full faces, and strong bodies, showing a heroic spirit everywhere.This style of Yungang Grottoes can be found in early Buddhist statues in Maijishan Grottoes, Bingling Temple Grottoes, and Dunhuang Grottoes, as well as early Buddhist statues in Xinjiang.These grottoes (Maiji Mountain, Bingling Temple, Mogao Grottoes) are all along the Silk Road from west to east.From this we can draw a conclusion that the style embodied in the Yungang Grottoes not only reflects the martial arts of the Xianbei people who bow horses, but also reflects the early style of Buddhist statues introduced through the Silk Road. (Fig. 24) Why did this early style appear in large quantities in inland China rather than further west?This is the same history.Datong, where the Yungang Grottoes are located, was called Pingcheng in ancient times and was the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty.During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Northern Wei Dynasty destroyed Beiliang in the Hexi area.Beiliang is a Buddhist art center in the Hexi area. After Beiliang was destroyed, a large number of craftsmen were moved to Pingcheng to participate in the construction of Yungang Grottoes.It is natural for these craftsmen to directly apply the early statue style to the Yungang Grottoes.It is also because of a historical reason that the new style of Longmen Grottoes appeared.Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 471-499) decided to implement reforms to the Xianbei regime, one of the main contents of which was to Sinicize clothing and all systems.At the same time, the capital of the country was moved from Pingcheng to Luoyang to completely abandon the past customs.During the relocation of the capital, a large number of craftsmen came to Luoyang, and built niches and caves according to the new cultural content, creating Chinese Buddhist sculptures that are truly different from foreign styles.

The number of Chinese Buddhist sculptures left in the world is extremely large, and it can be said that there are too many to count.On the one hand, the quantity is too large, on the other hand, it is too scattered.Chinese Buddhist sculptures are mainly made of stone carvings, clay sculptures, and bronze castings, followed by producers of various materials such as gold, jade, teeth, wood, and folders.But what can really represent the sculpture method created by the Chinese themselves is clay sculpture.This kind of finished product that takes the original shape of the clay tire as a sculpture without kiln firing or turning over the mold, and it has not been destroyed after thousands of years is indeed unique in the world.As mentioned above, the achievements of clay sculpture are mainly reflected in the arhats in temples after the Song Dynasty, such as the Song plastic arhats at Lingyan Temple in Changqing, Shandong, and the 500 arhats at Qiongzhu Temple in Kunming, Yunnan.The achievements before the Song Dynasty are mainly reflected in the works of the Dunhuang Grottoes and the Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui.In the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, there are many clay sculptures from the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Qing Dynasty. The most remarkable achievement is the clay sculpture of the Tang Dynasty.The processing of these works is very delicate and realistic.For example, although the Bodhisattva has two beards painted on his mouth, his overall shape is feminine, with soft and smooth skin, a graceful figure, and gorgeous painted dresses on his body.There are also many Buddhas who are modeled on women and characterized by kindness and gentleness.These Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have a great appeal against the backdrop of the painted walls all around.Beside Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, those heavenly kings and strong men with angry eyebrows and powerful Kongwu are also daunting.This method of expressing equal importance to grace and power has well maintained the relationship between worshipers and gods.The lack of clay sculptures in Maijishan Grottoes is the abundance of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang; the lack of Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang is the abundance of Maijishan Grottoes.An earthquake in history collapsed a piece of rock in Maiji Mountain, and the statue was also destroyed.The collapsed section happens to be the concentrated area of ​​statues of the Tang Dynasty, which is why there are very few statues of the Tang Dynasty in the Maijishan Grottoes.A large number of works preserved in Maijishan are mainly works from the Sixteen Kingdoms to the Song Dynasty, among which the clay sculptures from the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Western Wei Dynasty are the most abundant and exquisite.These works are typical delicate bones.The Buddha appears kind, and the Bodhisattva appears charming.They are all smiling, elegant and beautiful, graceful and moving. (Figure 25) If the success of clay sculptures in the Tang Dynasty in Mogao Grottoes is mainly due to the texture of human skin and the human body, then the success of clay sculptures in Maijishan is mainly due to the expression of fabrics in addition to the expressions of the figures.Some of the clothing patterns on these statues are simple and smooth, full of decoration; some are winding and winding, like the softness and luxury of silk.Maijishan clay sculptures are painted in simple and light colors, revealing the true colors of clay everywhere.The natural color of mud is used to express the texture of cotton and silk fabrics, showing the superb skills of the shapers.

Sculpture painting is an ancient tradition of human beings. Sculpture painting is quite common in ancient civilizations with historical records such as ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, ancient Greece, and ancient India.On this point, China is no exception, the difference is that China is the only country that preserves and enriches and develops this tradition.The most important thing in Chinese sculpture painting is to apply many pursuits of Chinese painting to sculpture.A large number and concentrated reflection of this feature is in Buddhist sculpture.For example, there are two bodies of Cao and Wu in paintings.Cao Zhongda of the Northern Qi Dynasty used a brush "his body is thick and folded, but his clothes are tight and narrow", and he is known as "Cao Yi comes out of water".In the Tang Dynasty, Wu Daozi used the brush, "the momentum is round and the clothes are floating", and he is called "Wu Dai Dangfeng".From the point of view of color setting, Cao's "artistic painting of Sanskrit statues" pays attention to the use of colors and fine workmanship; Wu's "Fu Cai is simple and light", pays attention to the use of brushes and rarely uses colors.The styles and pursuits of these two different paintings are also reflected in sculpture.Song Guo Ruoxu pointed out in "Pictures and Knowledge": "Sculptures and statues are also based on Cao and Wu." The clay sculptures of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Maijishan Grottoes mentioned above, the former uses gorgeous colors, and the latter uses The color is light, isn't it just a Cao style and a Wu style?

The algae decoration of Buddhist sculptures is also called Zhuangluan or Zhuangluan, which refers to some requirements on Buddhist statues in addition to the general meaning of painted paintings.In the final analysis, these requirements refer to the artistic method of painting and carving Buddha statues perfected by Dai Kui to make people "respect" and "motivate".Once this method is formed, it becomes the most important link in Buddhist sculpture.The statue of Maitreya Buddha cast by Wang Wenzhuangluan of the Tang Dynasty in Daxiangguo Temple in Kaifeng is one of the top ten statues of Daxiangguo Temple.So the knowledgeable people praised and said: "A husband pretends to be a luan, and the statue has wings." (Song Liu Daochun's "Supplement to Five Dynasties Famous Paintings Sculptures Sixth") Because the colors on the sculptures will disappear or change with the passage of time. , Another form of decoration appeared: decoration.Decoration can also be called make-up repair, that is, to use gold powder and color to re-decorate the face, clothing, body, and flame of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.Because the concept of painting in each era is different.The habit of using colors is also different. On the statues decorated in different periods, we have left us with the painting styles of different eras. For example, the cliff statues in the south of Bazhong, Sichuan, were excavated in the Tang Dynasty. Among the more than 100 statues in the niches, There are not only those decorated in Tang Dynasty, but also those decorated in Song Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and even modern times. From these repainted statues, you can see the obvious difference between the times.