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| Sunday, 26 May 2002 |
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Buddhism in China Unparallel grotto art by Wijitha Nakkawita.
Buddhism was introduced to China circa 1st Century AD and it continued to flourish over two thousand years with the Hinayana or Theravada tradition giving way to the Mahayana school of Buddhism in the later centuries. Eminent Chinese scholar monks like Fa Hsien had visited Sri Lanka and India during the early Anuradhapura period to study the Pali Buddhist cannon preserved at the renowned seats of learning at the then capital Anuradhapura. They remained in the Jetavana and Abhayagiri Buddhist universities, under the Sri Lankan scholar monks, known to the ancient Buddhist world as Sihala Sangha, recognized as erudite and authentic interpreters of the Buddha's teachings. Fa Hsien is known to have paid homage at Sri Pada and other important Buddhist shrines during his stay in the island. China still has a large college of Buddhist monks and thousands of Buddhist shrines and monastic complexes across its terrain. Scholars in several university campuses have done much research on the Chinese Buddhist traditions and religious practices. Archaeologists are also conducting more research on Buddhist archaeological sites and invaluable ancient shrines and ancient places of worship are being preserved.
Development of Buddhist art, sculpture and architecture in China underwent several changes from the first centuries when the influence of Buddhist art of India was predominant in the earlier centuries. The development of the Chinese Buddhist cultural traditions, with their stamp of the indigenous character and creativity had reached its zenith in the Sui and Tang dynasties (581 - 907 AD). China's Buddhist grottoes or natural caves filled with murals, paintings, terra cotta and bas-relief images or images hewn out of rock with a vast variety of frescoes and paintings are the ancient world's greatest art collection, without parallel in the East or the West. The first grottoes of Buddhist art found in northwest China's Xingjiang and Gansu regions are examples of art executed with foreign influence; inspired by Indian Buddhist art traditions of places like the Ajanta caves. Characterized by the Hinayana traditions the Buddha image is often in the Dhyana Mudra or the transcendental meditation posture. Even in images of the disciples like Ananda are in ascetic forms of expression like the early Buddhist art of Sri Lanka or other Theravada countries. However there are also many other Mudras like the Vitarka Mudra or even reclining images like the Polonnaruwa Gal Viharaya images representing the Parinibbana of the Enlightened One. As Buddhism spread east across the vast expanse of China in the first centuries the Hinayana traditions and foreign cultural influence remained. But about six centuries later the Hinayana tradition declined giving way to the Mahayanist beliefs. About the sixth century, beginning with Sui dynasty, new metaphysical beliefs and newer traditions were developing. They began influencing Buddhist art and sculpture to deviate from foreign influences and become more indigenous and of course vividly creative in harmony with the indigenous culture.
Buddhist art in and after this period developed on a colourful and lively new phase and the various mystic abodes of the Bodhisatvas whom Mahayana elevated to supernatural beings were painted with an abundance of flora and mythical beings depicted in the background. Yet the sculptor or the artist also had captured the human form and its myriad expressions in the richly vivid Buddhist grotto art of China. Some of the grottoes also had female Bodhisatvas in very expressively aesthetic forms and the indigenous Buddhist artist had reached the apex of creativity in those later centuries. Though some of the ancient Buddhist art has been lost, still a vast expanse of Buddhist shrines and monuments are being preserved and protected by modern China. The world's largest Buddha image sculpted out of a single natural rock on the face of a hill in China stands 71 meters high. Built thousand years back it had taken sculptors and workers 90 years to complete. The width of the image at shoulder level is 28 meters. This colossal Buddha image stands facing the vast expanse of water where three rivers meet at Leshan in the Sichauan province. Among the most outstanding Buddha images of China are the 13.7 meter Buddha image at Yungang in Shanxi province and the 17.4 meter Buddha image at Luoyang in Henan where the first Buddhist missionaries arrived in China on the invitation of Emperor Ming Di, two thousand years ago. The last mentioned Buddha image is a masterpiece of stone sculpture. Though China's population comprises 56 ethnic groups with a wide variety of cultures and religions. The first Chinese language Tripitaka came to be printed during the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) and the imperial court had the Tripitaka printed over 20 times with each edition needing over 20,000 printing blocks. Buddhism no doubt made a great impact on the Chinese civilization which was already highly developed. The introduction of Buddhism broke the cultural domination of Confucianism. The spirit of tolerance taught by the Buddha made it possible for the Chinese Buddhists to develop a new society in which Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism enjoyed equal positions. Buddhism also enriched the Chinese language with the translation of Buddhist scripture and the philosophy. The writings of some of China's greatest writers and poets like Tao Yuanming or Wang Wei came to be inspired by Buddhism after its introduction and spread in China. The intellectuals and artists as well as the rulers of China were inspired by Buddhism during various periods. The treasured works of art, sculpture and architecture left by the ancient Buddhists of China have enriched the world's cultural heritage. |
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