Chotscho Uighur Maitreya Image Studies

According to the classical expression,Buddhist art aims to deliver all living creatures from torment through artistic means.The Maitreya belief originated in India and reached the Central Plains of China via the Silk Road.The images of the Maitreya belief found in the Dunhuang Grottoes began in the Sui Dynasty and lasted until the Song Dynasty,the popularity of the Maitreya belief was different in Hexi and GaoChang areas than it was in the Central Plains.The Maitreya belief was introduced and developed in ancient Turpan Basin by the remnants of the North Liang Ju Qu from the Hexi area,this leads to the flourishing of the GaoChang Kingdom.Later,the Uighur that migrated to Turpan made the conversion to the local Buddhism and carried it further.The Turpan Basin area during the Chotscho Uighur time made many discoveries in regards to the images and other related materials about the Maitreya belief,among which,“The Sutra of Maitreya’s Ascension” and statues discovered in Bei Ting Xi Da Templewere the most prominent.This research essay uses imageology as perspective,centring around “The Sutra” found in the E204 niche from Xi Da Temple,with the intention of grasping the overall development of the Maitreya images from Chotscho Uighur,and further interpreting the relationship between the two in details through analyzing and comparing the imagery from Chotscho Uighur area and the Hexi region,with the help of supplementary materials such as literature references,archaeological materials,and other relevant classic works.This paper studies from the following aspects: First,to analyze previous studies conducted,it is found that the study of Maitreya belief in Gaochang area is less interpreted in terms of images,and the existing image materials are mainly murals and statues found in Xi Da Temple during the period of Chotscho Uighur;Second,to develop more detailed interpretations on “The Sutra” found in Xi Da Temple and related classics.Third,to supplement more information in regards to the time of the repainting of the Sutra found in Wan Fo Cave;Fourth,to compare and analyze the two Sutra found in Xi Da Temple and Wan Fo Cave;Lastly,to use the Sutra found in Wan Fo Cave as key reference,in addition to other related classics,deduce the missing pieces on the Sutra in Xi Da Temple.Imagery analysis and style comparison are used in this essay with the intention of discovering the text component of the images,other supplementary references such as historical philology and archaeology are also used to interpret the images.The three main research results are: First,based on the discussions regarding the time of the repainting process of the Wan Fo Cave Sutra,it is believed that the process may have been conducted in the Late Xi Xia dynasty.Second,the Maitreya belief found in Xi Xia and Uighur might have an inheritance relationship based on the re-integration and fusion that took place during the migration of Buddhism and Buddhist Art due to historical and political changes.Last,potential restoration of the E204 niche Sutra could be possible based on the assumption that the Sutra from Wan Fo Cave might have been painted with the Sutra from Xi Da Temple as its original reference.