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On the development of Buddhist sculpture in Ye City and the “Ye City Style” reflected by the Bei Wuzhuang hoard

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Published/Copyright: November 16, 2016
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Chinese Archaeology
From the journal Chinese Archaeology Volume 16 Issue 1

Abstract

The Ye City was the important Buddhist cultural center of the Central Plains and North China since the 6th century CE. Since the 1950s, rather large amounts of Buddhist sculptures have been unearthed within the scope of the Ye City Site, of which the hoard at Bei Wuzhuang found in January 2012 was the most noticeable. Through the analyses to the materials, motifs, assemblages and sculpturing characteristics of some typical samples from this hoard, the Buddhist sculptures during the Northern Dynasties in the Ye City area could be divided into four phases, which are the mid through late Northern Wei Dynasty, the end of the Northern Wei through the early Eastern Wei Dynasties, the late Eastern Wei through the early Northern Qi Dynasties and the mid through late Northern Qi Dynasty. Moreover, referring to the given historic background, the derivation of the Buddhist thoughts and the cultural communication between China and the West at that time, this paper points out that the so-called dragon-tree-shaped back screen statues popular in the mid through late Northern Qi Dynasty was a brand-new sculpture type integrated the technical tradition and composition characteristics of the white marble sculpture in the Wuding Era of the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Gupta sculpture style newly introduced in; the creation and diffusion of this sculpture type were tightly related to the Xianbeization and Western Barbarianization policies applied by the imperial court after the founding of the Northern Qi Dynasty and the reform of monastic restrictions managed by Fashang, the Buddhist comptroller-in-chief of the empire from Zhaoxuan Monastery.

Keywords: Buddhist art–history–Northern Dynasties (386–581 CE); religious reforms; Ye City Site (Linzhang County, Hebei)

Postscript

The onginal paper published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2014.5:76–87 was authored by Liqun He 何利群. This abridged version is prepared by the author and translated into English by Judy Chungwa Ho 何重华.

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Published Online: 2016-11-16
Published in Print: 2016-11-27

© 2016 by Walter de Gruyter, Inc

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https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2016-0018
Keywords for this article
Buddhist art–history–Northern Dynasties (386–581 CE); religious reforms; Ye City Site (Linzhang County, Hebei)

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. New archaeological discoveries
  3. The excavation of the Mazongshan jade quarry sites in Subei County, Gansu
  4. New archaeological discoveries
  5. The Dabona Cemetery in Xiangyun County, Yunnan
  6. New archaeological discoveries
  7. Gurugyam and Chuvthag Cemeteries in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet
  8. New archaeological discoveries
  9. A mural tomb of the Northern Dynasties at Jiuyuangang in Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province
  10. New archaeological discoveries
  11. The Gangga Cemetery in Chen Barag Banner, Inner Mongolia
  12. Spotlight
  13. Neolithic Age of western Tibet: a trans-Himalayan perspective
  14. Spotlight
  15. The Himalayan gold masks from the Eurasian perspective
  16. Spotlight
  17. On the early metal objects and early Metal Age in Tibet
  18. Reports
  19. The burial M90 of Songze Culture at Dongshancun Site in Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu
  20. Reports
  21. Survey of the water control system on the periphery of the Liangzhu Ancient City in Hangzhou
  22. Reports
  23. The tombs of burial mound No. 49 of the Han Dynasty at Shangma Hill in Anji County, Zhejiang Province
  24. Reports
  25. The excavation of the mound tombs of the Han Dynasty at Nanping Town, Changde City, Hunan in 2010–2011
  26. Research
  27. On the archaeological culture and related issues
  28. Research
  29. A study on the Neolithic turquoises in China
  30. Research
  31. On the piece mold-casting technology of the bronze gui-tureens in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties
  32. Research
  33. On the “Zunie”
  34. Research
  35. The pattern of archaeological cultures in northern China during the Eastern Zhou Period to the Qin Dynasty – also on the interactions among the Rong, Di and Hu ethnic groups and the Central Plains
  36. Research
  37. On the development of Buddhist sculpture in Ye City and the “Ye City Style” reflected by the Bei Wuzhuang hoard
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