Monday, October 15, 2012

Early Buddhist Art of China and Central Asia, Vol. 3: The Western Ch'in in Kansu in the Sixteen Kingdoms Period and Inter-relationships with the Buddhist Art of Gandhara

Author:
Marylin Martin Rhie

Publisher:
Brill


Publication Year:
2010



Abstract:
This book, third in a series on the early Buddhist art of China and Central Asia, centers on Buddhist art from the Western Ch'in (385-431 A.D.) 西秦 in eastern Kansu (northwest China), primarily from the cave temples of Ping-ling ssu 炳靈寺 and Mai-chi shan 麥積山. A detailed chronological and iconographic study of sculptures and wall paintings in Cave 169 at Ping-ling ssu particularly yields a chronological framework for unlocking the difficult issues of dating early fifth century Chinese Buddhist art, and offers some new insights into textual sources in the Lotus, Hua-yen and Amitabha sutras. Further, this study introduces the iconographpy of the five Buddhas and its relation to the art of Gandhara and the famous five colossal T'an-yao caves at Yün-kang.

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