An Archaeological Research Into The Tang Dynasty Cliff Statues In Guilin

There are 217 niches and 712 cliff statues of various sizes in Guilin,Guangxi Province.The history of cliff statues in Guilin stretches back not less than one thousand years.The earliest niche statues were made no later than the Sui Dynasty,few were made in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.The largest number of cliff statues date from the Tang Dynasty.This period marked a climax of the development of Buddhism in China.Various Buddhist activities were very active back then: namely translating Buddhist sutras,writing Buddhist scriptures,building temples,erecting pagodas,and carving statues.It was in this atmosphere that the statues of Guilin showed the momentum of a large number of excavations.At present,little is known to academia about these materials and there are different understandings as to their origins.Therefore,it is of great academic significance to find out the distribution of Guilin cliff statues,to clarify the history of the development and evolution of Guilin cliff statues,and to investigate the origin of Guilin statues and the historical background of their emergence.In this paper,the basic methods of archaeology are used to classify the Buddhas,Bodhisattvas,disciples and providers in Guilin cliff statues.On this basis,Guilin statues are divided into five stages: the first stage,from Sui Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty,few of the statues may be carved as early as Liang and Chen of the Southern Dynasty.During this period,a large number of monks traveled between China and India by sea,and Salnatic statues in the Guduo style ought to originate from the maritime route.The second period,the early Tang Dynasty,refers mainly to the period of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian.The number of statues in this period is the largest in Guilin compared with other stages.It can be divided into two stages of development based on its revolution.The third period,in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty,witnessed a great reduction in the number of status and their scope narrowed too.The fourth period,in the middle and late Tang Dynasty,there were only limited number of statues in a few places.In the fifth period,during the Northern Song Dynasty and the Five Dynasties,the number of statues increased,but the theme and style of the statues were no longer as splendid as those of the Tang Dynasty.The subject or theme of the statue is an important part of Buddhist art,and the study of some special themes can play an essential role in tracing statues' origins.Through the study of the special statue Udayana,Auspicious Bodhi Statue and Guanyin Statues with outward feet style in Guilin statues,it has been found that these themes and some special practices originated in Chang'an and Luoyang.The emergence of these themes in Guilin comes against a special historical background of its own,which is closely related to some certain events,such as Wang Xuance bringing back some Buddhist statues from India,monks journeying to India in pursuit of Buddhism via a maritime route,the eunuchs' supervision of the army,etc.Guilin cliff statues formed their own distinct features over the course of their emergence and development: they retained the characteristics of the typical Salnate statues of the Guduo period in India,with thin clothes fitted to the body and no creasing in the clothing;they are mostly Bodhisattvas in seated posture.The combination of one Buddha with one standing Bodhisattva and one sitting Bodhisattva by its side is unique and authentic.Besides,in the outer frame of the niche,a variety of decorative patterns with unique local characteristics have been adopted,which are rarely seen in other areas.During the Sui and Tang Dynasties,the Guilin cliff statues were directly affected by many regions.India,Chang'an and Luoyang were the three main sources.From the Sui Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty,influenced by the Guduo art of India,Guilin created a new chapter in carving Buddhism cliff statues by imitating and copying Salnate Buddha statues from India.From the time of the Emepror Gaozong,some decorative ornaments of special themes such as Udayana,Auspicious Bodhi Statue,Six Rings,Six Arcs,Upap a Duka,along with burial niches have all come from the Chang'an and Luoyang regions,showing the end of Indian influence and the trend of being totally influenced by the two-capital regions.In addition,Guilin cliff statues also had an impact on the birth of the Bobai Banquet Stone Mountain statues in Guangxi.The Banquet Stone Mountain statues in the late Tang Dynasty are likely to imitate the statues of the early Tang Dynasty in Guilin.From the end of the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty,the process of people's worship of Buddhism in Guilin was rather slow.The low degree of sinicization and various local worship factors have been restricting factors of the further development of Buddhism in the local area.The majority of believers have been from the north.In the Tang Dynasty,this situation was greatly improved,and many monasteries and statues appeared.Officials,ordinary people and even Sogdians were the main providers of the cliff statues.Most of the officials and their relatives are someone who have been demoted and exiled from the north.The statue donors adhered to the thought of Western Pure Land Sect.Most people have many local beliefs,and they are rather indifferent to Buddhism.By the end of the Tang Dynasty,under the circumstance of unlimited sale of monks ‘identities,the Xusi area could not recruit soldiers to replace the Guizhou garrison,resulting in the "Pang Xun Rebellion".Following this chain reaction,there was the saying that "Tang Dynasty died in Huangchao,and the disaster was based on Guilin".Thus,the war that led to the end of Tang Dynasty,the disorder of Buddhism and the "spark" that started in Guilin were closely linked.