Early Buddhist art of China and Central Asia / Volume 3, : The Western Ch'in in Kansu in the Sixteen Kingdoms period and inter-relationships with the Buddhist art of Gandhara / / by Marylin Martin Rhie.

• Superior document: Handbook of Oriental studies = Handbuch der Orientalistik. Section 4, China, vol. 12/3
• Author: Rhie, Marylin M.
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Series: Handbuch der Orientalistik. China ; v. 12/3.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (1017 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

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.) in eastern Kansu (northwest China), primarily from the cave temples of Ping-ling ssu and Mai-chi shan. 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.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- Chapter One The Western Ch’in (385-431 A.D.): History and Buddhism -- Chapter Two Bronze Buddha Altar from Ching-ch’uan -- Chapter Three Ping-ling ssu Stone Caves: Introduction and Niche No. 1 -- Chapter Four Ping-ling ssu Cave 169: West (Rear) Wall -- Chapter Five Ping-ling ssu Cave 169: East and South Walls -- Chapter Six Ping-ling ssu Cave 169: North Wall (I) -- Chapter Seven Ping-ling ssu Cave 169: North Wall (II) -- Chapter Eight The Five Buddhas and Sets of Multiple Buddhas in the Art of Gandhāra and Afghanistan and their Relation to Cave 169 at Ping-ling ssu and the Five T’an-yao Caves at Yün-kang -- Chapter Nine Mai-chi shan: Early Caves -- Conclusions: Volume III -- Appendix I: Communication Routes during the Sixteen Kingdoms Period -- Appendix II: Table of Texts Regarding Amitāyus and Sukhāvatī -- Bibliography -- Index -- Color Plates.