Study Of The Epigraph On The Northern Wei Sculptures From The Perspective Of Stylistics

Among the ancient history books collecting the epigraph of the Northern Wei sculptures, as "Jigulu", ”jinshicuibian”, "the whole ancient times, three generations, Qin and Han dynasty, the Three Kingdoms and six dynasty’s articles" and “the Continuations of Articles in the Northern, Eastern and Western wei”, it can be seen that most of the words engraved on the sculptures were endowed the name of “epigraph” as they were collected. Therefore, it is to some extent scholars’ recognition and naming of the style. Epigraph on Buddha statues, absorbing some elements from some styles like narrative proses and ancient inscriptions, assimilating Buddhist values, finally developed into a unique literary form.The epigraph of the Northern Wei sculptures has its own unique elements; in terms of syntax, with the sentence style of simple and rich, it emphasizes on sound and allusions; on the style, it shows the characteristics of pristine and vigorous as well as solemn and lasting. Its language style and organization both show the distinct mark of religions, which could be more reflected on its content. From the vows made on the sculptures, we can see common feelings of inscription makers in the Northern Wei dynasty. They had a soul full of sincerity and piety as well as practical utility. They believed in Buddhism and the power of Buddha, but that was not sufficient to constitute the motivation of building statues. They prefer Buddha to bless their country peace and prosperity, bless themself and families living safe, bless they become Buddha or noble. Buddhism give them another set of theory of life and death, making them calm to death, so they prayed for themself and loved ones live with Buddha in the afterlife, or become the nobility. They expressed wishes through statues, or more precisely, the statues offered the people living in trouble a bailment and hope.