Early Buddhist Art in China

When Chinese Buddhism was developing its own vocabulary,
practices, and monastic communities, based on Indian
Mahayana Buddhism, it also acquired unique artistic
characteristics. Initially, depictions of the Buddha and
attendant bodhisattvas (compassionate, highly enlightened
beings) in China were directly derived from Indian artistic
styles. As time went on, these figures began to look Chinese,
and artists were influenced by native traditions such as the
decorative images in funereal scenes. These artists created
more abstract linear patterns in the drapery of the robes and the swirls of the surrounding mandorla (body halo).

There were multiple Buddhas thought to inhabit the cosmos, including Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, and Amitofu, the Buddha of Infinite Life or the Pure Land. Gradually, two forms of visual shorthand for these innumerable Buddhas were invented: the twin Buddhas, who sat as if in conversation together, and the 1,000 Buddhas, who are common in the massive carvings done in caves from this period.

Early Buddhas had wavy hair, half-lidded eyes, and wore robes that draped their bodies closely, showing one bare shoulder. Later images of the Buddhas showed them in robes typical of Chinese monks with drapery that covered and obscured the shape of the body with elaborate geometric patterns. As the Silk Road brought a wealth of diverse images and conceptions of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to China from all over Asia, Buddha depictions became more naturalistic, replacing the intricate linear drapery with plain robes. Chinese Buddhas of this period also tend to have darker skin, reflecting the influence of Indian skin tones in artistic renderings.

Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future
Statue from Heibei Province, c. 650 CE
Image courtesy of Paul Halsall and Fordham College

Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion,
From the Tang Dynasty Period (615-905)
Image courtesy of Paul Halsall and Fordham College

Guanyin, a bodhisattva who sometimes assumed female form, was the model of compassion and mercy, and revered especially by women. In Cha’an Buddhist depictions, Guanyin is usually wearing a white robe that hides the crown and jewelry. In this image, however, Guanyin is elaborately dressed, standing on an open lotus flower, flanked by attendants who show their devotion.

Image courtesy of Paul Halsall and Fordham College

Cha’an Buddhist monks are often depicted as eccentrics; the monk Hui-neng is shown here destroying sacred texts. Monochrome ink painting, the special province of Cha’an Buddhist artists during the Sothern Song Dynasty (1127-1260), incorporated rapid strokes of wet ink as an expression of unplanned, unselfconscious creation. The artists often painted subjects meant to embody conundrums (like Japanese Zen koans) or to shock their audiences.

Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Compassion: 12th C.
Image courtesy of Paul Halsall and Fordham College