From Inherited Tradition A Dazzling Revelation: A Report on the Statues
Recently Excavated from a Storage Pit at the Longxing Temple, Qingzhou
by Lang Tianyong
Department of Fine Arts
China Central Institute of Fine Arts, Beijing
In 1996, more than two hundred statues stored in a pit were excavated from
the remains of the Longxing Temple in Qingzhou, Shandong province. These
date from the Northern Wei (386-534) through the Northern Song (998-1127)
(Figures 1 and 2), ranging over five hundred years. The Qingzhou find is
considered one of the ten greatest archaeological discoveries from that
year in all of China. The excavation of this group of images adds a new
page to the history of Buddhist sculpture.
Among the excavated objects, the predominantly Northern Wei sculptures are
the most important. In terms of style, these can be classified into two
groups.
In the first group are Northern Wei and Eastern Wei (534-550) sculptures,
among these a stele inscribed with the name Han Xiaohua dated the second
year of the Yong'an reign (529) (Figure 3), individual Buddha images, and
a Northern Qi stele from the third year of the Tianping reign (537) with
the name "Zhiming" (Figure 4).The style extends Central Plains
sculptural traditions subsequent to the reforms of the Northern Wei
emperor Xiaowen
(r. 471-500), marked with such salient characteristics as facial features
with "fine bones and pure expressions" and clothing resembling
"officials' robes and scholars' belts." Faces are open, elegant,
and divinely cast, with a hint of a smile (Figure 5).
Works from the Northern Qi (550-577)
comprise the second stylistic grouping, which includes individual Buddha
heads, polychrome Buddhist deities, images of Vairocana (Figure 6), etc.
(see "Clearing-up of a Storage Pit of Buddhist Icons in the Longxing
Temple at Qingzhou, Shandong," Wenwu 1998.2). Compared with
the preceding period, the style has changed considerably: Thicker bodies,
more simply carved drapery lines, fuller faces, and a deepened intensity
of expression. All the works mentioned above are representative of the
excavation as a whole.
In both the Northern and Southern dynastic realms, Chinese belief in
Buddhism and the concomitant efflorescence in image-making reached its
pinnacle in the fifth to sixth centuries. Objectively speaking, this
promoted a long-term development in the art of sculpture. Starting in the
late fifth century, the North closely followed Southern tastes. The
"fine bones and pure expressions" prevalent during the Northern
Wei was a Sinicization and expansion of the style developed during the
Southern dynasty of Liu Song (420-479). From the end of the fifth century
to the beginning of the sixth century, during the relatively stable
southern Liang Dynasty (502-557), the Wu emperor Xiaoyan (r. 502-549) also
devoutly practiced Buddhism. The production of Buddhist images flourished
during this period. Owing to a shift in aesthetic taste and heightened
relations outside the dynasty proper, the style of this period is not
merely a perpetuation of the Liu Song "fine bones and pure
expressions" style. A few new factors emerged: One of the prevalent
features of this period is the "Zhang family style," as it is
termed in historical documents. However, there are relatively few
excavated images from the Southern dynasties, except for the sculpures
discovered in the remains of the Wanfo Temple in Chengdu and a few
individual works, and textual evidence is scarce. Although one can consult
the these few individual works or Northern cave-temples (such as those in
Gongxian, Henan and Xiangtangshan, Hebei and Henan), all together these do
not suffice to reflect the true features of the Southern style.
The evolution of style between the Wei
(220-260) and Jin (265-420) to the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907)
dynasties is an extremely important link in the history of Buddhist
sculpture, and, as such, scholars have sustained differences of opinion
towards this period. The Longxing Temple images, of different periods and
of different styles, provide excellent material evidence for laying bare
the stylistic development of the later Northern and Southern Dynasties
(particularly the Southern Dynasties). Qingzhou lay in the North, within
the political boundaries of the Northern Qi, but during one prolonged
period, it had been turned over to the jurisdiction of the South and held
deep origins within traditional Southern culture. Thus this group of
images should stylistically relate to contemporaneous Southern types.
Indeed, as scholars have clearly pointed out, the Qingzhou sculptures are
the same as those unearthed in Sichuan, and should constitute a
substantial foundation for our understanding of late Southern Dynasties
style.
The Qingzhou sculptures attained a high level of artistry, especially the
Northern Qi individual standing figures -- masterpieces of this period.
Several distinguishing features of these objects are outlined below.
1. Robust Figures and Simple Drapery
Lines.
Starting in the Northern Wei, the use of the so-called "officials'
robes and scholars' belts" drapery style, i.e., loose outer apparel,
prevailed, as seen in the Sakyamuni triad dated the third year of Tianping
(Eastern Wei, 537) (Figure 7). Drapery lines are overly elaborate
and stylized, supplementing and complementing the appearance of "fine
bones and pure expressions." The majority of the Qingzhou Northern Qi
statues have thick strong bodies and full soft faces (Figure 8).
Garments conform to a select type: The kasaya, or monk's robe,
passes over the shoulder, exposing the left side of the torso (Figure 9),
and the agitated folds of the Northern Wei give way to form-fitting
drapery, or the "flat ladder" technique, or utterly unadorned
line, the entire body as smooth as paper (Figure 10). The overall feeling
is one of purity and completeness. We can see this form-fitting type among
early fifth-century images, as in the figures inside Cave 169 of the
Bingling Temple (Gansu) and Cave 5 of the Tanyao group at Yungang (Shanxi),
representing the earliest local examples of non-indigenous Buddhist art.
Gradually, displaying the contours of the body in this way became
Sinicized, replaced by the local Han literati costume --
"officials' robes and scholars' belts." Although the
form-fitting style of the late Northern Dynasties images discovered in
Qingzhou differ substantially from those of a century earlier, generally
speaking in these works a foreign influence has re-emerged.
2. Spiritualized Facial Features. Attention to the mood of the
object and to the expression of an inner spirituality is an artistic
tradition formulated during the Wei and Jin dynasties, arising from
fundamental aesthetic theories that stress "disregarding form for
meaning" or "disregarding likeness for meaning." The
painter Gu Kaizhi's (346-407) discussion of transmitting the spirit and
the sculptor Lu Tanwei's (Liu Song dynasty, 420-479) "fine bones and
pure expressions" invariably conform to this belief. Although the
Qingzhou Northern Qi sculptures break with the stylistic conventions of
the earlier period, nevertheless to some degree the Northern Wei legacy is
carried through. The Buddhas' faces are numinous and otherworldly (Figure
11) and, coupled with the emphasis placed on simpler garb (Figure 12),
thoroughly expresses the spiritual character of Buddhist transcendence
over the secular world -- solemnity, beneficence, mercy, and infinite
wisdom, arousing profound emotions towards the gods and the afterworld.
3. Polychrome Painting Preserved and Intact. Elaborately painted
surfaces characterize ancient Chinese sculpture. Initially, Buddhist
images all possessed colors of gorgeous hues, no longer visible on extant
works and most excavated examples. As a result, it is difficult to imagine
the polychromed surfaces, thus misleading viewers of their original
appearance. The colors on the Qingzhou statuary have been preserved
remarkably well, allowing us to catch a glimpse of how the coloration of
these Buddhist images first looked. Furthermore, the colors raise the
scholarly and aesthetic value of the works. On ancient China, there were
two main types of polychrome statues: the first involves covering the
entire figure with gold paint; and the second is to apply different shades
according to the carved lines, the body thus divided by color. Most of the
Longxing Temple pieces belong to the second type. In addition, many of the
painted surfaces diverge from these two traditional types: The smooth
stone plane was used in the same way as paper, with individual designs on
its surface. Some illustrate the kasaya (Figures 13 and 14), some
illustrate the Buddhist pantheon ranging from monks to nomadic peoples
(Figures 15 and 16), and some illustrate subjects yet to be defined.
Judging from excavated Buddhist statues, there are few surviving examples
of designs drawn directly on the surface. This is undoubtedly also a
unique feature of the Longxing Temple images.
The excavation of Buddhist images from the storage pit of the Longxing
Temple in Qingzhou is one of the most important archaeological discoveries
in China in the past decade. It has enhanced research into an
unknown aspect of the history of Chinese sculpture, and, at the same time,
has raised several questions, such as the origin of the Northern Qi
sculptural style, the elements contributing to the making of sculpture,
and the relationship and influence among regional and chronological trends
in Buddhist art. Scholars have already conducted research along these
lines. The extraordinary stylistic attributes of this group of images can
also offer inspiration towards our notions of creativity, such as the care
taken to express the figures' inner spirtuality, and the emphasis on the
overall effect of each work.In addressing the relationship between the
past and the present, the Qingzhou find yields another advantage:Though
the fundamental artistic choices then and today's individual creativity
certainly cannot be discussed in the same terms, in the final analysis,
this is one case in which tradition and innovation merge.
*Click on each image to enlarge.
Figure 1. Seated Arhat. Northern Song. Lime-stone. 35 x 17 cm.
Figure 2. SEated Arhat. Northern Song. Lime-stone. 37 x 16 cm.
Figure 3. Maitreya stele donated by Han Xiaohua. Dated 529 (Northern Wei).
Lime-stone. 55 x 51 cm.
Figure 4. Buddha triad donated by the Nun Zhiming.
Dated 537 (Eastern Wei). Limestone. 83 x 66 cm.
Figure 5. Head of Buddha.
Eastern Wei - Northern Qi. Limestone. Height 22 cm.
Figure 6. Standing Buddha with illustrated robe.
Northern Qi. Limestone. 117 x 43 cm.
Figure 7. Maitreya triad donated by Xing Changzhen. Dated 536 (Eastern Wei).
Limestone. Height 137.7 cm.
Figure 8. Standing Buddha (detail of head). Northern Qi. Limestone. Height
125 cm.
Figure 9. Standing Buddha. Northern Qi. Limestone.
60 x 20 cm.
Figure 10. Standing Buddha.
Northern Qi. Limestone. Height 82 cm.
Figure 11. Standing Buddha (detail of head). Northern Qi. Limestone.
Height 139 cm.
Figure 12. Standing Buddha.
Northern Qi. Limestone.
116 x 40 cm.
