1. Buddhist Caves Mural Painting
The Silk Route
Buddhist Caves
Mural Painting

6. Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties
Northern Wei (Toba):
Sui:
Tang:

7. Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism: Western Paradise (Pure Land paradise) spread from India around the 5th century, Esoteric Buddhism (Tang-7th) and Ch’an Buddhism (Song-10th)
Important images are Amida Buddha (Amitabha) who resides in the Western paradise, Maitreya Buddha (Future Buddha) and Gyanyin (bodhisattva of Compassion)
Amida
Gyanyin (became more feminine from 1279)
Maitreya: laughing pot-bellied Buddha in China

9. 4.12 Colossal Buddha, Cave 20, Yungang Cave, late 5th C.
(13.7 m)

10. Yangang Caves
50 caves at Yangang began around (Capital moved to Luoyang) (contemporary with Ajanta caves in India); located in Shanxi.
Cave 20 was is one of the oldest caves, dedicated by the Toba Wei rulers.
The Buddha seated in mediation (fifteen meters)

11. Yungang Cave, late 5th C.

12. Sakyamuni, Yungang Cave

13. Dun Huang caves
Buddhist caves situated on the Silk Route; it is an important stopping between the N and S tracks of the Tarim Basin.
They were carved out of natural soft gravel cliffs; approximately a thousand caves but only half of them survived.
Many were decorated with wall paintings; the themes mainly focus in the Western Paradise of Amitabha Buddha.
Avalokitesvara (Chinese: Gyanyin) became highly popular

14. 4.17 Western paradise, Dunhuang, Tang Dynasty, late 8th c

15. Avalokistesvara and Gyanyin
Bodhisattva of Compassion
He was regarded as the guide of souls and one who bring the blessing of many children
Reside in the Western paradise of Amithaba
In Chinese art, he is depicted as a male bodhisattva, like those of India, until around the end of the 12th C (early part of Song Dynasty)
He gradually transform into a male figure with some female qualities such as the body, the face, and the hands
By the 17th century (Ming period), the male form was replaced with more feminine form

16. 4.18 Gyanyin as the Guide of Souls, Dunhunag, 10th c.

17. Lotus sutra
Gyunyin images became feminized; represented as a middle-aged fair lady in a white robe.
The transformation marked the Sinification of Avalokistesvara by the Chinese who believed in the Lotus Sutra, which gives Ava the ability to assume innumerable forms.
She is depicted as a lady in white robe or a bodhisattva with a thousand hands

18. Gyanyin, 12-13th C.

21. Pagoda
Watchtower-like structure (from clay models made for the dead to use afterlife)
Represents the center of the earth, axis mundi
Han period, exterior decorated with paint and lacquer
Motifs evoke the World outdoors (trees and birds)

25. Great Wild Goose Pagoda

26. Brick Pagoda of Songyuesi, Mt. Song, 520 CE

27. 4.16 Isometric view of the timber-framing, main hall, Foguangsi temple,
Shanxi, c. 857

29. Three-color wares They were tomb deposited; earthenware with pigments
They vary in size from animals and tpys a few inches high to gigantic horses, Bactrian camels, armed men, dancers, musicians; women figurines were predominate
Human figurines were made in molds, with front and back cast separately; animals were made in several pieces
They declined after the mid 8th century

30. 4.19 Yen Lipen (attributed), Emperor Wu Di, the Scroll of the Emperors, Tang Dynasty,
7th c. (11th century copy)

31. Tang period ( CE)
It is the golden age of Chinese civilization; expanding their territories to Korea, Vietnam, and Central Asia
Emperors supported trading on the Silk Road
Emperor Wu Di
Capitals at Luoyang and Chang’an (modern Xi’an); population of one or two millions; it was the most cultivated metropolitan center in the world
Art and literature flourished; Buddhism was supported by the Kings

32. Court lady figurines, Tang period, 7th century

33. Camel with musicians, Tang period (618-907 CE)

34. Foreign attendants, Tang Dynasty (618-907), earthernware

35. Girl resting on a camel, Tang period,(618-907), earthenware with pigments

36. Horse and groom, pottery with polychrome glaze, Tang Dynasty
From Henan