Study On Lingyan Temple Clay Statues Art Characteristics

Built1600years ago, Lingyansi Temple is ranked first among China’s four most famous ancient temples. The forty ancient statues of Arhat have high artistic values and archaeological values. Liang Qichao, a master of Chinese culture, praised them as "China’s best clay statues", Liu Haisu, a master of arts, also toured the temple and wrote the words "Lingyansi Temple clay statues are among the best in the world, so lifelike that you might take them as real humans ", rather high praises as well.Lingyansi Arhat statues, both in their posture, facial expressions, clothes, and in their molding and characteristics,reached a high artistic level. There are a wonder among the Buddhist clay statues in the same period. The statues inside the temple are so beautiful and wonderful, that they leave the future generations a precious artistic treasure to look with reverence and admiration.Lingyansi Temple is a Buddhist shrine; its clay statues are in essence to serve the purpose of preaching Dharma. These clay statues feature a solemn but also beautiful expression, they look vivid but not artificial. Some of them are searching for meaning, some are preaching, some are looking afar, some are meditating. On the whole, the clay statues in Lingyansi Temple represent Buddhist solemnness and quietness, which is also delicately reflected through the depiction of the details and actions of the Arhats. The smooth lines of the clothes are an important artistic features of the clay statues in Lingyansi Temple. They also show volume and shading, which gives the clay statues a rich feeling of layers. These characteristics deserve to be studied and learned by today’s sculpture workers. Lingyansi clay statues are not only Buddhist treasures, but also China’s precious cultural heritage, extremely valuable history relics of the human race, as well a textbook for us to study China’s sculpture history, especially clay statues of Arhats. We need to get out of contemporary way of thinking in sculptures, and incorporate the quintessence of ancient Chinese sculpturing into our own artistic creations.