Study On The Statues Of The Maijishan Cave In The Northern Wei Dynasty

There are 221 caves in Maijishan Grottoes and more than 90 caves in the Northern Wei Dynasty,accounting for nearly one-half of the total number of Majishan Grottoes.It can be seen that the Northern Wei Dynasty is the climax of the construction of Majishan Grottoes and the most prosperous era of statues.Through the analysis of the handed down documents and the inscriptions of the existing providers in Maijishan Grottoes,this paper holds that the most important reason why the statues of Maijishan Grottoes reached their peak in the Northern Wei Dynasty is that the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty respected and advocated Buddhism.After the restoration of Buddhism,the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty not only personally participated in Buddhist activities,but also required local pagoda-erecting temples and grotto-opening statues in the form of administrative orders,which made the Buddhism of the whole Northern Wei Dynasty develop rapidly.It was under this background that Maijishan Grottoes were built.In addition to the heavy Buddha in the Northern Wei Dynasty,the large participation of monks and nuns in Qinzhou also promoted the prosperity of Majishan grotto statues.The main theme of the statues in Maijishan Grottoes is the three Buddhas.This paper combs the statues of the three Buddhas in the Northern Wei Dynasty and concludes that the identity of the three Buddhas is the third Buddha,which combines lamp burning,Sakya and Maitreya.The statues of France and China represented by two Buddhas sitting side by side in Sakyamuni are also the most common statues in this period.A large number of statues of Buddha III and Fahua reflect the popularity of Buddhism III and Fahua in Maiji Mountain during this period.In Maijishan Grottoes,there are still a special kind of statues,such as snail bun.This paper re-examines its identity and considers that the identity of snail bun is a disciple of Buddha.Comparing the ribbon pattern and hanging clothes of Majishan Grottoes with those of Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes,we can see that Majishan Grottoes were greatly influenced by YungangGrottoes in the early stage and Longmen Grottoes in the later stage.This is because the local statues were influenced by the statues of the central area,and the influence of the central area on the statues of Maijishan Grottoes should be sustained.This article systematically combs and textually studies the statues of Maijishan Grottoes in the Northern Wei Dynasty from the aspects of the background,subject matter,thought of statues and the influence of the central area on the Majishan Grottoes,hoping to make the academia have a deeper understanding of the statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty in the Majishan Grottoes.