chinese buddhist bronzes of the t'ang-period

Chinese Buddhist Bronzes of the T'ang-PeriodAuthor(s): Hugo MünsterbergSource: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 11, No. 1/2 (1948), pp. 27-45Published by: Artibus Asiae PublishersStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3248121 .

Accessed: 17/06/2014 06:03

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Artibus Asiae Publishers is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Artibus Asiae.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.72.126.181 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 06:03:52 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=artibus

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3248121?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


HUGO MUNSTERBERG:

CHINESE BUDDHIST BRONZES OF THE T'ANG-PERIOD

THE NEW ARTISTIC STYLE OF THE SHORT-LIVED SUI-DYNASTY WAS CONTINUED AND

ultimately transformed during the subsequent T'ang period which lasted from 618 to 906 and

is often regarded by the Chinese as the most brilliant era in their history. Under the rule

of Li Shih-min, better known by his imperial name of T'ang T'ai Tsung (627-649 A.D.), and his son, Kao Tsung (649-683 A.D.), the frontiers of China were expanded in all di-

rections and reached as far as the border of India in the West. At the same time, the Middle

Kingdom prospered and grew until by 742 A.D. the population was estimated at 52 million

with the capital city of Ch'ang-an alone having close to 2 millions inhabitants.' Buddhism

continued to be a major intellectual force and the close contacts with India and travels to

the Holy Land of Buddhism by pilgrims such as Hsuan-tsang brought new waves of Buddhist

thought and art to the Middle Kingdom. For this reason some scholars have called the T'ang

period the Buddhist age of China.2 The Ch'an, or meditative, and Chen-yen, or TrueWord,

sects which emphasized formulas and ceremonies were both developed at this time and

enjoyed a great deal of popularity. This religious fervor was reflected in the art, for the

seventh century is not only a golden age of Buddhist sculpture as the caves at Lung-men

testify, but also an age of great religious paintings,3 examples of which only survive in the

provincial works at Tun Huang and the frescoes at Horyuji.

Although a wealth of T'ang material has been preserved, only a few large Buddhist bronzes

survive, for during the disorders and wars of this and later periods, most of them were de-

stroyed. According to the records concerning the great Buddhist persecution of 845 A.D.,

the imperial cabinet decreed that the bronze images from disestablished temples "be melted

down for coins".4 The best and largest Buddhist bronzes reflecting the T'ang style are

1 L.C. Goodrich: A Short History of the Chinese People (N.Y. 1943), p. 134. 2 K.S. Latourette: The Chinese, Their History and Culture (N.Y. I943), p. 211. 3 0. Siren: History of Early Chinese Painting (London 1933), Vol. I, p. 45. : Goodrich: op. cit., p. 126.

27



found in Japan which, during this period, was greatly influenced by the court at Ch'ang-an. A further factor which makes this investigation difficult is that while many Buddhist bron-

zes of the sixth century were dated, this is no longer so after 600 A.D. and by the nineth

century, dated monuments are almost unknown. One must therefore rely upon stylistic

analogies to a far greater extent than had been the case with the earlier period.

Among the Buddhist deities represented, the most popular are Buddha Amitabha and Kuan

Yin. The former, who was looked upon as the Dhyani, or Spiritual Buddha, corresponding

to Sakyamuni, is the Buddha of endless light and the ruler of the Western Paradise, the

heavenly abode where the souls of the faithful are reborn on lotus flowers. The Buddha

Amitabha's attributes are similar to those of Sakyamuni so that it is often impossible to tell

which of these Buddhas is represented; however, the fact that no less than ninety-nine in-

scriptions at Lung-men ranging from 647 to 715 A.D. invoke Amitabha5 clearly indicates

his great popularity. In altar groups, the monks Ananda and Kasyapa, and the Bodhisattvas

Manjusri and Samantabhadra, or Maitreya, and Kuan Yin may be seen at the sides of the

central deity. The latter Bodhisattva was without question the favorite deity of the Buddhist

Pantheon during the T'ang period. He is not only represented in the traditional manner,

wearing the garments of the Indian prince and holding the fly wisk and the bottle of heaven-

ly nectar, but also in his characteristically Indian form with many heads and many arms

which shows again the strong Western influence during these years. One can find examples

with eleven or nine heads, and four or six arms carrying various emblems such as the lotus

flower, the bottle and the wheel,6 although no large Chinese bronzes of this type have come

to the author's attention. The multiple heads "arranged in two or three rows evidently

symbolized the looking into every direction or omnipresence of the merciful Bodhisattva.7

Other bronze images show Manjusri on a lion, the king of the animals, and Samantabhadra

seated upon an elephant,8 believed to be the wisest of animals, as well as representing loka-

palas, or guardians, and arhats, or holy men.

5 0. Siren: History of Chinese Sculpture (London I925), Vol. I, p. CXXXV.

6 Catalogue of Collection of Chinese and Other Far Eastern Art Assembled by Yamanaka and Company

(N.Y. 1943), No. 82 and No. 107.

7 Siren: op. cit., p. CXLI. 8 Yamanaka Catalogue of 1943, No. 36 and No. 92.

28



t

Fig. Buddhist Shrine. Dated 599 A.D. Coll. L. Sickman, Kansas City



The evolution of the T'ang style took place gradually and it is difficult to determine just

when Sui sculpture ends and T'ang begins. Sometimes the old and the new style may be

seen side by side as in the little Buddhist shrine dated 599 A. D. in the Sickman Collection

in Kansas City (fig. i). The central figure of Kuan Yin, the two accompanying Bodhisattvas

and the monks clearly reveal the simple geometric treatment of the body which is character-

istic of the Sui style of the late sixth century, while the more sensuous and dynamic treat-

ment of the guardians, lions, and incense burner is closer to the T'ang style of the seventh

century. Since both parts are subordinate to the whole, this would suggest that either two

artists collaborated on the shrine, one working in the conservative and the other in the new

manner, or that one artist started it in the old style and then, before finishing, turned to

the modern manner. In any case, the change from the Sui to the T'ang style must have

taken place around the turn of the century, somewhat earlier than the change of ruling houses.

Perhaps this development can be observed most clearly when we review an entire group of Kuan Yin images which illustrate various phases of the stylistic evolution. Our first

example, a very graceful Kuan Yin image in the Collection of the William Rockhill Nelson

Gallery of Art in Kansas City (fig. 2), is a charateristic early Sui image. Dating probably

from the late decade of the sixth century, it shows the plastic and geometric form of the

typical Sui images. The body is reduced to a simple frontal shape which shows very little

movement, and only the ornate jewelry and the fly wisk and bottle counteract the serene

dignity of the figure. The second example (fig. 3), a Kuan Yin from the Collection of Mr.

C.T. Loo, shows a softening of the contours and a more sensuous portrayal of the body.

The forms have loosened up, and there is a greater emphasis on the linear pattern of the

scarfs and the bands of jewelry. At the same time, the face is longer and the features more

pronounced. This shows the influence of the fleshly beauty of the images from Gupta

India, for the union of the spiritual and the sensuous so chatareristic of Indian art is now

beginning to appear in the work of the Chinese. If we contrast this image with that of the

Bodhisattva Maitreya in a private collection in Kyoto dated 6o08 A.D. (fig. 4), we shall see

that on stylistic grounds the Kuan Yin image should be dated around the opening years of

the seventh century. The Maitreya image shows the deity as a royal prince who stands on

a lotus flower and holds an ointment jar in his hand. Here, the formalized, geometric feeling

30



Fig. 2 Bodhisattva Kuan Yin Fig. 3 Bodhisattva Kuan Yin W. Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City Collection C. T. Loo, New York

of the earlier image has given way to a more natural and sensuous portrayal in which the

scarfs suggest movement and the hips sway in an S curve. The face is rounder and more

natural, and the expression not as spiritual. This tendency is carried even further in the

31



large Kuan Yin image in the Louvre9 which, although undated, can be assigned to the early

T'ang period, perhaps a decade or two after the Maitreya. The forms are very similar, but

the treatment of the body is even more sensuous, showing the soft curving forms of the

deity's torso and making the swaying movement of the figure even more pronounced. The

hands here have none of the traditional attributes but the headdress shows a representation of the Buddha Amitabha who is traditionally associated with the Lord of Mercy. The other dated seventh century examples of bronze Bodhisattva imagesl0 are of little

value to us, for the first, dated 636 A.D., is clearly a sixth century work with a forged

inscription, while the second, although undoubtably correct in its date of 66i A. D., is

too small and crudely fashioned to be of help in a stylistic study.l1 However, even this

tiny image clearly shows the sensuous forms that are characteristic of the stone monu-

ments from this period. It is to Japan that we must turn to see the mature seventh

century style at its best for the Japanese, wo have always treasured their artistic and

historical monuments, have preserved several large and splendid Buddhist bronzes which,

even if not actually executed by Chinese or Korean workmen, certainly are a close

reflection of the style of seventh century China. For example, the image of Nikko Bosatsu

which forms part of a Buddhist trinity in the Kondo of the Yakushiji near Naral2 is

stylistically so close to the attending Bodhisattvas of the Colossal Buddha Vairocana at

Lung-men that we are safe in using the work in this discussion. Furthermore, the Yakushiji

group was made in 697 A.D. as a result of a vow taken by the Emperor Temmo who

hoped to cure his wife of an eye disease and one tradition has it that Korean craftsmen

were instrumental in fashioning it. Considering that the Lung-men cave in question was carved between 672-75 A. D. this would seem to fit in very well since it would

probably take a decade or two for the most advanced style of sculpture used in Ch'ang-an

to reach such outlying countries as Korea and Japan. The Yakushiji trinity shows the T'ang style at its best for these were monumental images 9 Siren: op cit., Vol. III, pl. 418 A. 10 S. Omura: History of Chinese Art; Sculpture (Tokyo 1915), figs. 816 and 817. 11 The Kuan Yin dated 651 A.D. in the Stoclet Collection which was shown in the London Chinese Art

Exhibition (No. 807) is obviously from an earlier period. 12 K. With: Buddhistische Plastik in yapan (Vienna I922) pi. I41.

32



Fig. 4 Bodhisattva Maitreya Fig. 5 Bodhisattva Kuan Yin Private Collection, Kyoto Coll. R. Chait, New York

fashioned for court use by the best craftsmen available. Their quality, therefore, is vastly

superior to that of many small Chinese bronzes which, being less significant, vere undoubt-

edly made by less accomplished craftsmen. Every detail of the figure and especially of the

beautiful hands and the halo, shows an exquisite treatment which makes us realize what

treasures were lost when the Chinese equivalents were melted down and destroyed by later

unbelieving ages. Although each detail is fashioned with great care, there is at the same time

a compactness and unity, and the vertical of the figure counteracted by the horizontal curves

of the scarfs and the dress folds achieves a wonderful sense of repose and equilibrium. Just

as the works of the fourth decade of the sixth century show the fullfillment of the Six Dy-

33



nasties ideal of abstract and symbolical religious sculpture, so these images mark the cul-

mination of the T'ang ideal of the union of natural and spiritual. Another type of Bodhisattva image popular during early T'ang was the seated one showing a very free pose with one leg hanging vertically and the other lying horizontally, its knee

turned out and sole adjacent to the opposite knee, which position is called the lalitasana, or position of ease. Good examples of this type are found in two seated Bodhisattvas,

probably Kuan Yins, one of which is in the collection of Ralph M. Chait (fig. 5) and the

other on loan at the Nelson Gallery in Kansas City (fig. 6). Although neither is dated, the

style of the first, bearing a marked similarity to the Maitreya image of 6o08 A. D., suggests it is a work of the early seventh century, while the second image is probably from the end

of the century. The earlier statue shows the compact and plastic style of the beginning of

the T'ang era, and, in the later one, the soft lines of drapery and bands covering the breast

indicate the new painterly mannery . In his left hand, the Kansas City Kuan Yin displays the

conch shell, a characteristic Buddhist emblem well known from Indian art and symbolizing the fact that the t ha Bodhisattva calls the believers by blowing the horn.

Next to Kuan Yin, the most popular deity was the Buddha himself who is represented either

standing or seated. In both cases, it is nearly impossible to tell (if there is no inscription) whether Buddha Sakyamuni or Buddha Amitabha is intended; and it is quite likely that the

Chinese craftsmen themselves did not always distinguish them clearly. A good example of

a seventh century standing Buddha is the image in the Winthrop Collection of the Fogg Museum (fig. 7). The figure still shows the solidity and geometrical severity of the cha-

racteristic Sui style but at the same time it has the softer, more sensuos forms of early T'ang

images so that it should probably be dated during the first quarter of the seventh century. The right hand is lifted in the Abhaya mudra, the gesture with which the Buddha asks the

faithful to have no fear. The head shows the usni-sa of the Enlightened one and the face

expresses the peaceful serenity of the Tathagata.

A characteristic example of the seated Buddha is the bronze in the Collection of Mr. L.

Sickman of Kansas City (fig. 8). The mandorla must have originally belonged to a Six Dy-

nasties statue for its fluid flame pattern clearly suggests the style of that period. The figure

itself with its mixture of soft, sensuous beauty and spiritual intensity is a typical T'ang

34



Fig. 6 Bodhisattva Kuan Yin Fig. 7 Buddha

Anonymous Loan, Nelson Gallery, Kansas City Fogg Museum of Art, Cambridge, Mass.

production, probably earlier than the dated stone statue of 639 A. D. which used to be in

the Hayasaki collection in Tokyo,l3 and the standing Buddha which we just discussed. It

may be therefore assigned to the third decade of the seventh century. Again, the face is

serene and deeply spiritual, the head shows the usnisa and the hand is lifted in the vitarka

mudra, the gesture of argumentation. These two types, varying in detail but similar in 13 0. Fischer: Die Kunst Indiens, Chinas und 7apans (Berlin 1928), pi. XXII.

35



their general iconographical conception, may be found in many examples during the seventh

and eighth century attesting to the veneration which at that time the Buddha enjoyed. Besides the Buddha and the Bodhisattva Kuan Yin, many minor deities of the Buddhist

pantheon vere represented in bronze but none rivalled the importance of the two main

deities and few of their images have been preserved. Of T'ang Buddhist altar groups there are again only a few dated examples, and none is of

very high quality. One group shows Sakyamuni Buddha seated in a crossed leg position on

a high pedestal, his hands in the abhaya mudra, the faithful disciples, Ananda and Kasyapa, on either side, and in front of them, two smaller bhikshus, and two dvarapalas, or guardians, and two lions. The image is dated 664 A.D. and is in the collection of Mr. Lo Chen Yu

atTiensin.14 Unfortunately, the bronze is small and of indifferent quality, but it shows the

characteristic merging of sensuous and spiritual which we found so typical of the period. Another seventh century altar group, which has been published by Omural5 and is dated

682 A.D., shows an unusually strong Indian influence. Even during this period when such

influences on Chinese Buddhist art were very great, this work is exceptional in showing

Bodhisattvas which resemble Hindu deities and two stupas in the background so that we

must conclude the image either was made in the Western borderland or was the work of

an Indian craftsman who had come to China.

Beginning with the works of the eighth century, this T'ang classicism (as it has been called

by Professor Ludwig Bachhofer)l6 gives way to a more "painterly" and "Baroque" style if

we may use terms borrowed from Western art history. Only a few dated bronzes have

survived from this period, but these and the dated stone sculptures clearly show the new

artistic trend which becomes ever stronger as the century progresses. The classical clarity

and emphasis upon solid three dimensional form gives way to a more pronounced linear

effect, especially in the treatment of drapery and scarfs which in their fluid linear patterns

anticipate the "Baroque" feeling of the Sung period. This tendency is well illustrated by

the Standing Buddha of 744 A.D. in the Sumitomo Collection in Japan.17 The balance and

14 Siren: op. cit., pl. 46A. 15 Omura: op. cit., fig. 818. 16 L. Bachhofer: Zur Geschichte

der chinesischen Plastik vom VIII-XIV Tahrkundert. Ostasiatische Zeitschrift, Neue Folge, I4. Jahrgang, Heft 2/3 p. 66. 17 Sumitomo Collection Catalogue, Vol VI, fig. 228.

36



Fig. 8 Buddha Fig. 9 Bodhisattva Kuan Yin Coll. L. Sickman, Kansas City Coll. Fogg Museum of Art, Cambridge

harmony achieved during the seventh century begins to break up as the curves of the drap-

ery folds assume a life of their own. Another dated bronze now in the same collectionl8

is an ash urn in the form of a sarcophagus resting on a platform of two steps with orna-

mental rails. According to the inscription, it was dedicated in 758 A. D. and shows how

18 Siren: op. cit., Vol. IV, pl. 421 and Sumitomo Cat, Vol. IV, pl. 230 a-f.

37



pronounced these new elements have grown during the intervening years. At the long

sides of the sarcophagus the four lokapalas with their dramatically flowing scarfs and curving

postures clearly show the new dynamic style as do the Buddha group over the entrance and

the flying apsaras at the sides of the sarcophagus with the fluid movement of the clouds

and the bodies. Another dated eighth century bronze, formerly in the Yamanaka Collect-

ion,19 may well be of interest since it represents a 91'/4 inch Kuan Yin from the year 748 A. D.;

however, due to the liquidation of that firm it has been impossible to secure a photograph of the work. Dated stone examples, several of which can be found in Professor Siren's

monumental study of Chinese sculpture, will further bear out this thesis.20

In the United States, the seated Kuan Yin in the St. Louis Art Museum21 and the standing

Kuan Yin in the Winthrop Collection of the Fogg Museum in Cambridge (fig. 9) are both

good examples of early eighth century images. Although neither is dated, they can be safely

assigned to this period because of their close stylistic similarity to the dated works discussed

above. In both, the soft, rounded forms and gracefully curving scarfs reveal the new style

in which the plastic conception has given way to a more painterly one. If we contrast the

Fogg image with the earlier work from Yakushiji, the evolution is at once apparant for the

one is essentially static while the other is dynamic in character. The orderly pattern of the

garment and the hanging scarfs is now replaced by an irregular design in which the flowing

scarfs achieve a new and fluid effect. There is also a difference in the headdress for while

the earlier Bodhisattva wore a large, firmly placed, symmetrical crown, that of the Kuan Yin

is smaller and reveals loosely treated hair.

The beginning of the second half of the eighth century (for which the sarcophagus of

758 A.D. was an example) continued this movement, and the Bodbisattvas in the Buddhist

trinity in the collection of C.T. Loo (fig. io) may be used as an illustration of the late eighth

century style. Comparing it with early eighth century works and with the little wooden

Buddhist altar which Kobo Daishi is reported to have brought to Japan in 80o6 A. D. and

19 Catalogue of Exhibition of Early Chinese Bronzes, Stone Sculpture and Potteries, Yamanaka & Co. (N.Y.

I926), No. 36. 20 Siren: op. cit., Vol. IV, pls. 5 3 7 A, 5 26 A & B, 442 A & B. 21 L. Sickman: Chinese Art (University Prints, Newton, Mass.), pl. 0 I85.

38



'.I

Fig. io Buddhist Trinity Collection C. T. Loo, New York

? t



which is now in the Kongobuji in Koyasan,22 we may well conclude that this bronze must

have been made during the late eighth century. The Bodhisattvas are treated in a manner

more painterly than we have seen before, and the broad, sensuous forms usually associated

with the T'ang period as a whole and which were still pronounced in the works from the

first half of the century have now disappeared altogether. In their place are slender forms

in which mass and weight are dissolved into soft, merging contours that are further broken

up by the elaborate jewels and bands decorating the figures. If we compare this Trinity with the wooden altar in Koyasan, it is clear thar the former must date from a period before

the ninth century for the altar shows a dry, formalized style which foreshadows the five

mid-ninth century sculptures representing the Akasagarbha Bodhisattvas which were brought from the Ch'ing Lung in Ch'ang-an to Japan in 847 A.D. by the priest E-un Sozu and are

now in the Kwanchi-in of the To-ji in Kyoto.23 In the ninth century the wealth of Chinese Buddhist bronzes subsides and only a few isol-

ated examples have come down to us. One reason is undoubtedly the Buddhist persecut- ions that culminated in the great persecution of 845 A. D. from which Chinese Buddhist

art never fully recovered. Another reason was the general decline of sculpture as the artis-

tic energies of the nation were directed towards painting and poetry, and, last but not least

important, wood and later iron, materials which were cheaper and better fitted for the na-

turalistic effects of later sculpture, became more and more widely used, especially during

the Sung and Ming periods. We are fortunate, hovewer, in having at least one example of nineth century Buddhist

bronze sculpture which, although not dated, may be assigned to this period on the basis of

close stylistic and iconographical similarity to the Buddhist Wall Paintings at Wan Fo Hsia.

This bronze, representing a lion (fig. ui) that was probably part of a Manijusri statue similar

to those at Wan Fo Hsia,24 is now in the collection of Mr. Ralph Chait of New York City.

If the animal is compared to the one ridden by the Bodhisattva25 which was brought to

22 0. Munsterberg: Clzinesische Kunstgeschichte (Esslingen I91o), Vol. I, p. I68, ill. 13I. 23 C. Glaser: Ostasiatische Plastik (Berlin I925), pls. 128-30.

24 L. Warner: Buddhist Wall Paintings, a Study of a Ninth Century Grotto at Wan Fo Hsia (Cambridge

1938), pls. XVIII & XX. 25 Glaser: op. cit., pl. 129.

4o



Fig. I 1 Buddhist Lion Coll. Ralph M. Chait, New York

Japan from Ch'ang-an in 847 A.D., there is little doubt that the more animated and forceful

style of the bronze lion would suggest an earlier date in the nineth century. The vigor and monumentality of this animal is Baroque in the best sense of the word and stands in

striking contrast with the abstract, highly formalized treatment of the Toji Bodhisattvas.

At the same time, certain details in the earlier work anticipate the later one, as for example the curls of hair on the lion's legs and the face which looks more like a dog than the origin-

41



al Near Eastern lion. But to see the great difference one has only to compare the magni- ficently alive and expressive tail of the Chait animal with the tame, weak tail of the

Toji lion.

During the Sung period, Bud- dhist sculpture at first continued in an abstract style similar to the works of the ninth century. A giant image of Kuan Yin, cast in bronze in the year 971 A.D. for the

Lung-hsing temple in Cheng- ting,26 shows this highly formal manner which has none of the sensuous roundness of early T'ang works. The emphasis is on monumentality and elaborate ornamentation rather than spiritual feeling. The

base with its intricately carved marble sculptures shows a movement and ornateness that breaks up the design into a

large number of smaller epi- Fig. 2 Buddha

sodes which are not clearly Coll. William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City

organized. The giant image itself, measuring nearly 14 meters in height, is elaborately decor-

26 0. Siren: Kinas Konst Under Tre Artusenden (Stockholm I942), Vol. II, fig. 107. O. Siren: Chinese

42



ated with scarfs and jewels and, according to tradition, originally had forty-two arms of

bronze and a corresponding number of hands in wood. Furthermore, the surface was co-

vered with cloth, lacquer and gold foil, thus adding to the splendor of the image.27 The

same degree of formalization is found in the wooden Sakyamuni now in the Seiryoji in

Kyoto which the priest Chonen brought back from China in 987 A.D.28 It may be assumed

that these two works give us a good indication of the artistic trends of the early Sung

period. No dated bronze statues from the eleventh century are preserved, but the few dated images in stone and lacquer29 suggest that the bronze Kuan Yin in the University Museum in Phi-

ladelphia,30 which is usually assigned to the Five Dynasties period, may well be from this

age for it shows a style similar to that of the seated lacquer Lohan dated 1099 A.D.31 In

both, one sees the abstraction of the tenth century style but at the same time there is a re-

turn to more natural and rounded forms. Another example of eleventh century sculpture is the seated Buddha image (fig. 12) in the Nelson Gallery which Mr. Laurence Sickman, the

Oriental curator of this museum, assigns to this period because of its similarity to certain

Liao dynasty images at Ta-t'ung.32 Again, we find a highly formalized treatment of the

figure which, compared to the tenth century image, shows a softening of the contours.

These works lead us to the sculptures of the twelveth and thirteenth century when there

is one last flowering of Chinese Buddhist art before the final disintegration. The numerous

works oft his age, found in most large museums the world over,33 are usually carved in wood

Sculpture of the Sung, Liao and Chin Dynasties, Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stock-

holm, Vol. 14, pls. I & 2. 7 0. Siren: op. cit., B. M. F. E. A., Vol. 14, p. 47.

28 Glaser: op. cit., p. 126. 29 Siren: Chinese Sculpture, Vol. 4, pl. 57I. Siren: Studien zur chinesischen Plastik der Post T'ang Zeit, O.Z. Neue Folge, IV, Heft 1/2, pi. I. 30 Burlington Magazine, Vol. 68, Jan. I936, pl. I. 31 Sickman: op. cit., pi. 0 203. 82 Architecture of Liao and Chin and the Buddhist Images, Vol. I, pls. 50-2. Bulletin of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture, Vol. IV, nos. 3 & 4, An Examination of the Ancient Architecture of Ta-utng by Liang Ssu-cheng. 33 Siren: op. cit., O.Z., Neue Folge IV, Heft 1/2. L. Bachhofer: A Short History of Chinese Art (N.Y. 1946), pls. 73-7.

43



Fig. 1 3 Bodhisattva Kuan Yin Coll. Fogg Museum of Art, Cambridge, Mass.

I ??- I.

,".

and show a style which has been rightly characterized as Baroque with its soft contours, its free movement and its painterly rather than plastic conception. A rare bronze example in the Fogg Museum (fig. 13) may, although undated, be placed in this period, for it shows

the soft, merging contours, the easily flowing lines, the elegance and sophistication of these

late Sung works which reflect the splendid but worldly civilization of a refined and cultu-

red age. The Bodhisattva is seated in the mah,-raja-alitasana, or the position of royal ease.

A smile now softens the face of the Lord of Mercy, and the otherworldly serenity of the

44



sixth and seventh century images has given way to an elegant and almost playful manner.

In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Chinese religious sculpture ceased to be a major form of

artistic expression. Naturalism coupled with a decline in the skill of the craftsmen led to a

complete disintegration of the once great form. A bronze image of the Bodhisattva Manjusri in the Hardt Collection in Berlin dated 1429 A.D. will serve to illustrate this development.8 The figure is not spiritual at all, but realistic and lacking in inner life while the lion is square and dog-like, without any of the vitality of T'ang animals. The dynamic movement of the

Sung works has given way to an uninspired and dryly formal treatment which shows neither

expressiveness nor intensity. Although some of the traditional iconography is used, such

as the alms bowl and the vitarka mudra, there is none of the sensuous Indian beauty, and

the Bodhisattva now wears the simple dress of the Chinese official. Such work is no longer a moving religious image, and it was to Tibet that the Chinese had to turn in order to again revive their Buddhist sculpture with new life and new vitality.

JOHN E. MCCALL

EARLY JESUIT ART IN THE FAR EAST IV

IN CHINA AND MACAO BEFORE 1635

THE EARLIER SECTIONS OF THIS PAPER DEALT WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF

European Renaissance art and Christian iconography in Japan at the end of the sixteenth

century and at the beginning of the seventeenth. Now we pass on to China to see

the effects of these influences on its culture at that period. The Ming dynasty was near

the end of its slowly weakening rule. During the greater part of the sixteenth century the Imperial government confined all European traders and missionaries to the little port of Macao, which the Portuguese had leased in 1557 for trade with nearby Canton.44

34 William Cohn: Chinese Art (London 1930), pl. 48. 144 L. Pfister, Notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les 5esuites de l'ancienne mission de Chine, 1552- 1773, in Varietes sinologiques, nos. 59-60, 1932, p. I I, note i. Hereafter this work is referred to as Pfister.

sixth and seventh century images has given way to an elegant and almost playful manner.

In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, Chinese religious sculpture ceased to be a major form of

artistic expression. Naturalism coupled with a decline in the skill of the craftsmen led to a

complete disintegration of the once great form. A bronze image of the Bodhisattva Manjusri in the Hardt Collection in Berlin dated 1429 A.D. will serve to illustrate this development.8 The figure is not spiritual at all, but realistic and lacking in inner life while the lion is square and dog-like, without any of the vitality of T'ang animals. The dynamic movement of the

Sung works has given way to an uninspired and dryly formal treatment which shows neither

expressiveness nor intensity. Although some of the traditional iconography is used, such

as the alms bowl and the vitarka mudra, there is none of the sensuous Indian beauty, and

the Bodhisattva now wears the simple dress of the Chinese official. Such work is no longer a moving religious image, and it was to Tibet that the Chinese had to turn in order to again revive their Buddhist sculpture with new life and new vitality.

JOHN E. MCCALL

EARLY JESUIT ART IN THE FAR EAST IV

IN CHINA AND MACAO BEFORE 1635

THE EARLIER SECTIONS OF THIS PAPER DEALT WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF

European Renaissance art and Christian iconography in Japan at the end of the sixteenth

century and at the beginning of the seventeenth. Now we pass on to China to see

the effects of these influences on its culture at that period. The Ming dynasty was near

the end of its slowly weakening rule. During the greater part of the sixteenth century the Imperial government confined all European traders and missionaries to the little port of Macao, which the Portuguese had leased in 1557 for trade with nearby Canton.44

34 William Cohn: Chinese Art (London 1930), pl. 48. 144 L. Pfister, Notices biographiques et bibliographiques sur les 5esuites de l'ancienne mission de Chine, 1552- 1773, in Varietes sinologiques, nos. 59-60, 1932, p. I I, note i. Hereafter this work is referred to as Pfister.

45 45



chinese buddhist bronzes of the t'ang-period

Documents