The Chinese Localization Of Buddhist Representations

Since the Buddhist iconography was introduced from India in the 1st century AD,a major painting genre centering on Buddhist representations gradually took shape in China.In the 2nd century,the first mature Indian Buddhist representations,known as the Kushan style,strongly impacted the Chinese Buddhist paintings.In the long course of history,a Chinese system of Buddhist representations with strong ethnic characteristics has been developed.Several questions,however,are yet to be answered.How was the foreign Buddhist iconography localized in China?What artistic problems did the Chinese painters face and what were their solutions?How to create Chinese Buddhist figures with national artistic forms that both conform to the local aesthetics and have a strong identity?These are the questions that this paper aims to explore.The Chinese localization of Buddhist representations consists of two parts:first,the introduction and imitation of Indian iconography;second,the innovation and transformation based on the local artistic tradition.The evolution began with the first introduction of Buddhist images in the Eastern Han Dynasty(25-220)and culminated in the Song Dynasty(1127-1279)when the norms for Chinese representations were established.During the localization,while drawing on the constant influence of the Kushan style,the Gupta style and the Western Regions,the Chinese painters were also transforming and reinventing.They eventually broke free from the exotic influence and created mature Chinese Buddhist representations based on the local artistic language.Since then,the Chinese style began its export to other parts of the world.Although drawing on the Indian conventions of Buddhist representations,the Chinese artists completely transformed the artistic expression and spirit.From the introduction of Indian representations to the establishment of Chinese norms,the evolution can be roughly divided into six stages,with each stage dominated by different styles:When the Kushan style was popularized,Cao Buxing of the state of Eastern Wu first introduced the Buddhist painting genre.When the Kushan and the Gupta style were both active,Dai Kui of the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-420)followed the Indian conventions but changed the Indian figures to Chinese ones,creating the first localized representations.Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin and Lu Tanwei of the Liu Song Dynasty(420-479)reinvented the artistic language and techniques and the presence of the Buddhist figures.As a result,slender figures with elegant features(Xiugu Qingxiang)in loose robes were popular in the Northern and Southern Dynasties(420-589).At the peak of the Gupta style,Zhang Sengyou and Cao Zhongda created the Zhang style and the Cao style respectively.The Indian conventions,styles from the Western Regions and local traditions were integrated in the Tang Dynasty(618-907),when the Wu style and the Zhou style were mainstream.The Song Dynasty(960-1279)saw weak foreign influence and a leapfrog development of the local artistic language.Based on the legacy of Wu and Zhou,the language was further refined.That was when modern Buddhist representations stabilized,matured and started their global journey.These six stages saw the interaction between the Indian iconography,the style of the Western Regions and the Chinese representations.In this process,Chinese painters sought to assimilate the foreign forms into the national aesthetic traditions with the local language and technique.In their search for the artistic answer,the painters not only transformed the foreign representations but also broke through the national painting conventions.