BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF CHINA

“This book has been organized so that a brief biography of Prince Gautama (later the Buddha), is first presented, followed by an explanation of the Four Noble Beliefs, and the Eightfold Path which a Buddhist must follow to reach the enlightenment, and finally the Nirvana. Then using an historical chronology that tied philosophic and aesthetic ideas to the development of artistic styles and iconographic symbolism, the gradual change is traced from Indian Buddhism to the less severe from of Chinese Buddhism that is an amalgamation with traditional Daoism…..A large number of examples of the Buddhist art, the painting, sculpture and architecture are provided and discussed in detail. There are also a number of colored plates that are used as illustrations as, for instance, the group of large, painted clay statues in the round, combined with huge painted murals on the walls of a cave temple that created a breath-taking, theater-like reality of Buddha and some of his followers…..The many detailed descriptions of architecture include the Pagoda inspired by the Indian Stupa), the stupendous temple caves chiseled out the cliffs (some of which have been newly discovered), and the wooden and masonry temples built within compounds with gardens and lawn between them, their roofs resting on pillars rather than walls so that the walls of the great halls can be easily moved to expand the space.

When one contemplates the great age of the Chinese civilization, its dissemination of culture and art throughout the world for several millenniums, the huge land mass of uncounted archeological art sites, and the staggers population of one billion people in the People’s Republic of China, one is greatly surprised to find the paucity of scholarly book on Chinese Art compared to the multitude of books on Western and Near Eastern Art. One of several reasons given for the lack of books during much of the twentieth century was the knowledge of the regional aspects of Chinese art was not proportionate to the enormous quantity of art objects of historical and archeological interest that had spread the fame of Chinese Art around the world. the great majority of Chinese art objects preserved in private and public collections are of unknown origin, some from clandestine excavations and chance finds, and others from purposely concealed sources.

This interdisciplinary historical-aesthetic study of Chinese Buddhist Art and Architecture has been expressly written to increase the Western World’s knowledge of the Chinese people, their history, religious beliefs, and the extensive of archeological art sites, some of which have been declared “Cultural Treasures of the World” by the united Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and placed under their protection. Much of the information has been based on the writers’ many trips around China where they had numerous discussions with Chinese scholars and artists who have contributed to the studied of Chinese Art, and shared their research results with them. For example, since 1996, Dr. Bao came to China every summer to as a visiting scholar to do research on Chinese Art and Culture. During his travels Dr. Bao visited more than 120 Buddhist temples of 21 provinces, over 100 museums and galleries, and attended over 30 national level conferences. he has collected over 600 photos, enough information to fill ten notebooks. This book is also deeply indebted to Dr. Tian, an international well-known scholar of Buddhist art, for his assistance and his profound fund knowledge about Chinese Buddhist Fine Art, Music and Architecture as a director of the Institute of World Religious Art, China’ Research Academy of Fine Art, Beijing.” (From the Commendatory Preface) Letitia Lane, PhD

List of Illustrations:
1. Eight Kings Fighting for the Buddha’s Relics. 2. Flying Apsaras 3. Dunhuang Grottos. 4. Story of the Western Pure Land 5. General Zhan Yi-caho’s Marching 6. The Dancing Lady 7. Buddha, the Master 8. Bodhisattva and the Disciple 9. Bodhisattva. 10. The Young Disciple Ananda 11. The Disciple 12. Buddhist Statues 13. The Nirvana of Sakyamun. 14. Nine Dragons Bathing Prince Siddartha 15. Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy, with Pearl Hands 16. Happy Maitreya 17. Lokapala, one of the Guardian Kings of the Four Quarters. 18. Goddess of Mercy Holding a Lotus Flower Bud 19. Goddess of Mercy Crossing the South Sea 20. Goddess of Mercy Crossing the South Sea 21. Goddess of Mercy in Easy Gesture 22. Seated Goddess of Mercy, 23. Inter View of Foguang Temple, A Group of Buddhist Sculptures. 24. Inter View of the Hall of Buddha Sakyamuni 25. Goddess of Mercy at Royal Ease 26. Wei Tuo, The Guardian of Buddha 27. The Goddess of Mercy with Many Arms and Hands 28. Five Buddhist Pagodas in Biyun Temple 29. The Four Bodhisattvas. 30. Goddess of Mercy of Water and Moon 31. Goddess of Mercy of Water and Moon (contemporary copy) 32. The Queen of Heaven Going to the Lecture of Buddha 33. Chen Hong-shou (1598-1652), The Arhats (Detail) 34. Ding Yun-peng ( 1547-1628). Washing the Elephant 35. General View of Mogao Grottos 36. The Hall of Da Bei 37. The Wall of Five Dragons 38. The Bronze Hall 39. Buddhist Pagoda 40. Tibetan King Zanpu Listening To Preaching 41. The Aerial View of Samye Temple 42. The Aerial View of Thiktse Monastery 43. Drawing of Tangka 44. The Medicine Buddha Bhaishayaguru 45. Interior View of the Hall of Sakyamuni. 46. Goddess of Mercy with A Thousand Arms and A Thousand Eyes 47. Buddha Aksobhya 48. Kurukala 49. Vajrabhairave 50. Amitayus
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Buddhism in China: Religion, Culture and Art
1. The Early Buddhist Art in China
2. The Art of Dun-huang
3. Buddhist Sculpture: The Art of Cave-Temples of China
4. Buddhist Sculpture: The Art of Temple-Sculptures
5. The Art of Buddhist Painting
6. Chinese Buddhism and the Art of Chinese Calligraphy
7. The Art of Chinese Buddhist Architecture
8. The Art of Tibetan Lamaism
Notes
Glossary
The Holy Mountains and Great Temples of China
Timeline
Selective Bibliography
Index