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Title: The Thousand Buddhas
Ancient Buddhist Paintings from the Cave-Temples of Tun-huang on
the Western Frontier of China
Author: Aurel Stein
Contributor: Laurence Binyon
Release Date: February 7, 2022 [eBook #67358]
Language: English
Produced by: Ronald Grenier
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE THOUSAND BUDDHAS ***
THE THOUSAND BUDDHAS
ANCIENT BUDDHIST PAINTINGS FROM
THE CAVE-TEMPLES OF TUN-HUANG
ON THE WESTERN FRONTIER OF CHINA
RECOVERED AND DESCRIBED BY
AUREL STEIN, K.C.I.E.
WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY
LAURENCE BINYON
PUBLISHED UNDER THE ORDERS OF
H.M. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA
AND WITH THE CO-OPERATION OF THE
TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM
TEXT
LONDON
BERNARD QUARITCH, Ltd.
1921
PRINTED IN ENGLAND
AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
BY FREDERICK HALL
TO THE MEMORY OF
RAPHAEL PETRUCCI
TO WHOSE DEVOTION TO FAR-EASTERN ART
THE STUDY OF THESE PAINTINGS OWES MOST
THIS ALBUM WHICH HE HAD HELPED TO PLAN
IS DEDICATED
IN ADMIRATION, AFFECTION, AND SORROW
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE ix
THE TUN-HUANG PAINTINGS AND THEIR PLACE IN BUDDHIST ART
An Introductory Essay by Laurence Binyon 1–10
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF PICTURES by Sir Aurel Stein 11–63
I, II. The Paradise of Bhaiṣajyaguru 11
III. A celestial assemblage 13
IV, V. Processions of Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra 14
VI. Details from a painting of a Buddhist Heaven 15
VII. The Paradise of Śākyamuni 16
VIII. Amitābha’s Paradise 18
IX. Legendary scenes from a painting of Maitreya’s
Paradise 19
X. Amitābha with attendants 20
XI. A Paradise of Amitābha 21
XII. Scenes from Gautama Buddha’s Life 23
XIII. Scenes from the Buddha legend 25
XIV. Images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 26
XV. Two forms of Avalokiteśvara 28
XVI. Four forms of Avalokiteśvara 29
XVII. Avalokiteśvara in Glory 30
XVIII. Avalokiteśvara standing, with willow spray 31
XIX. Two Avalokiteśvaras with the willow 32
XX. Avalokiteśvara with flame-wreathed halo 33
XXI. Avalokiteśvara standing 33
XXII. Two Avalokiteśvara paintings with donors 34
XXIII. Six-armed Avalokiteśvara with attendant
Bodhisattvas 35
XXIV. Two paper paintings of Avalokiteśvara 36
XXV. Two paintings of Kṣitigarbha 37
XXVI. Vaiśravaṇa’s Progress 39
XXVII. Virūpākṣa and Mañjuśrī 40
XXVIII. Bust of a Lokapāla 42
XXIX. Two Dharmapālas and a Bodhisattva 43
XXX. Side-scenes and details from a Buddhist Paradise
painting 44
XXXI. A Tibetan painting of Tārā 45
XXXII. Paper pictures of a Bodhisattva, saint, and monk 47
XXXIII. Paper pictures of hermit and horse-dragon 47
XXXIV, XXXV. Embroidery picture of Śākyamuni on the Vulture
Peak 48
XXXVI. Bhaiṣajyaguru’s Paradise 50
XXXVII. Banners with scenes from the Buddha legend 51
XXXVIII. Buddha Tejaḥprabha and Avalokiteśvara as guide of
souls 53
XXXIX. Kṣitigarbha with the Infernal Judges 54
XL. Kṣitigarbha as Patron of Travellers 55
XLI. Avalokiteśvara and two other Bodhisattvas 56
XLII. Avalokiteśvara, thousand-armed, with attendant
divinities 57
XLIII. Avalokiteśvara with Lokapāla attendants 58
XLIV. Fragment of standing Avalokiteśvara 59
XLV. Vaiśravaṇa crossing the ocean 59
XLVI. Fragment with child on demon’s hand 61
XLVII. Three Lokapāla banners 61
XLVIII. Fragment with figure of demonic warrior 63
INDEX 64
PREFACE
The purpose of this publication is to place before students interested
in Eastern art reproductions of select specimens from among the great
collection of ancient Buddhist paintings which in the course of the
explorations of my second Central-Asian journey, carried out in 1906–8
under the orders of the Government of India, I had the good fortune to
recover from a walled-up chapel at the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’
near Tun-huang. The essential facts concerning their discovery will be
found summarized in Mr. Laurence Binyon’s _Introductory Essay_. Those
who may wish for details of the circumstances attending it, and for
some account of the local conditions which explain the preservation of
these relics of ancient Buddhist art in the distant region where the
westernmost Marches of true China adjoin the great deserts of innermost
Asia, will find them in my personal narrative of that expedition.[1]
They have been recorded still more fully in _Serindia_, the final
report on the results of my explorations, recently issued from the
Oxford University Press.[2]
In Mr. Binyon’s _Introductory Essay_ there will be found a lucid
exposition, by the hand of a competent expert, of the reasons which
invest those paintings with special interest for the study of Buddhist
art as transplanted from India through Central Asia to the Far East,
and with great importance, too, for the history of Chinese art in
general. There light is thrown also on the manifold problems raised by
the variety of art influences from the West, the South, and the East
which are reflected in different groups of these paintings and which
some of them show in striking intermixture.
But throughout it is Buddhist inspiration and legend, as propagated
by the Mahāyāna system of Buddhism in Central and Eastern Asia, which
furnish the themes of these paintings and determine the presentation
of individual figures and scenes in them. For the proper appreciation
of their art some knowledge of the traditional elements in subjects
and treatment is indispensably needed. It has hence been my aim
in the descriptive text referring to each Plate to supply such
iconographic information as the non-specialist student may need for the
comprehension of the subject and details, and as the present state of
our researches permits to be safely offered. In the same descriptive
notes I have endeavoured to record information also as to the state of
preservation, character of workmanship, colouring, and similar points
in each painting.
Having thus briefly indicated the object and scope of this publication,
it still remains for me to give some account of the labours which
had to precede it, and to record my grateful acknowledgement of
the manifold help which alone rendered the realization of this
long-cherished plan possible in the end. In Mr. Binyon’s _Introductory
Essay_ reference has been made to the protracted and delicate
operations which were needed at the British Museum before the hundreds
of paintings, most of them on fine silk, which had lain, often crumpled
up into tight little packets, for centuries under the crushing weight
of masses of manuscript bundles, could all be safely opened out,
cleaned, and made accessible for examination. The far-reaching artistic
interest of these pictures had already greatly impressed me when I
first beheld them in their original place of deposit. But only as the
work of preservation progressed did it become possible fully to realize
the wealth and variety of all these materials, the novel problems they
raised, and the extent and difficulties of the labours which their
detailed study and interpretation would need.
The mixture of influences already referred to revealed itself plainly
in features directly derived from Graeco-Buddhist art and in marks of
the change it had undergone on its passage through Central Asia or
Tibet. But the preponderance of Chinese taste and style was all the
same unmistakable from the first. On the iconographic side, too, it
soon became clear that the varied imagery displayed by the paintings,
though based on Indian conceptions and forms, bore the impress of
important changes undergone on its transition to China and after its
adoption there. The chief hope of guidance for the interpretation
of this Pantheon lay manifestly in comparison with the artistic
creations of the later Mahāyāna Buddhism of the Far East, especially of
Japan, and in the Chinese inscriptions displayed by many of the silk
paintings. It was obvious hence that for this part of my collection
a collaborator was needed who with knowledge of Buddhist iconography
would combine the qualifications of a Sinologue as well as familiarity
with Far-Eastern art in general.
Through Mr. Binyon’s friendly intercession I was able in the autumn
of 1911 and towards the close of my stay in England to secure this
collaborator, and one exceptionally qualified, in the person of M.
Raphael Petrucci. Already distinguished in more than one field of
research, M. Petrucci combined enthusiastic devotion to Far-Eastern art
as a critic, connoisseur, and collector, with Sinologue studies begun
under such a master as M. Chavannes. A series of important publications
on the art of China and Japan bears eloquent testimony to his eminent
fitness for what was bound to prove a difficult task. During the
following two years M. Petrucci devoted protracted labours to the
study of our paintings and their inscriptions. The results were to be
embodied in an extensive Appendix to _Serindia_, probably requiring a
separate volume.
In 1913 he supplied me with the draft of his introductory chapter
dealing with the votive inscriptions of our paintings, and after my
start that year for a third Central-Asian expedition he discussed in a
separate essay those elaborate compositions or ‘Maṇḍalas’ which form
the subject of some of the largest and artistically most interesting of
our paintings.[3] In addition to the above M. Petrucci had collected
a great mass of Chinese textual materials for the identification
of Jātaka scenes, individual divinities, &c., represented in the
paintings, when the invasion of Belgium cut him off from his home at
Brussels and all his materials. Under the conditions created by the
world war he was unable to resume his task in earnest. But he found
occasion even then, in the midst of voluntarily undertaken medical
duties under the Belgian Red Cross, to revisit our Collection, to
assist with his expert advice in the cataloguing of the Tun-huang
paintings, and to publish in the _Annales_ of the Musée Guimet a short
but very instructive and stimulating _conférence_ on them.[4]
When returning in May 1916 from my third Central-Asian expedition,
I found M. Petrucci at Paris, still full of vigour and eagerly bent
upon carrying through his task. When a few weeks afterwards I was able
to inform him of the fortunate chance which, as will be explained
presently, had offered to make select specimens of our Tun-huang
paintings accessible in adequate reproductions to a wider circle of
students of Far-Eastern art, he most willingly undertook to contribute
the main portion of the text which was to accompany them. But some
months later he began to suffer from an internal ailment, and though in
the autumn of 1916 he was still strong enough to take a very helpful
share in the selection of the paintings to be reproduced in _The
Thousand Buddhas_, his condition became serious enough to necessitate
a grave operation in February 1917. This he overcame with apparent
success, only to succumb a week later to diphtheritis contracted in
the hospital. Deprived thus by a cruel blow of Fate of a most valued
collaborator and friend, we must rest content with dedicating to his
memory this publication in which he was to have borne a principal share.
In accordance with the plan sanctioned in 1911 by the Secretary of
State for India, the Detailed Report on the results of my second
Central-Asian expedition was to include also a systematic survey and
full descriptive list of all the art relics brought away from the Caves
of the Thousand Buddhas. With this object in view I had taken care, at
the same time when enlisting M. Petrucci’s collaboration, to use as
many plates of _Serindia_ as the claims of abundant ‘finds’ from other
sites would allow, for the reproduction of characteristic specimens
among the different classes of paintings, drawings, and wood-cuts
recovered in the walled-up chapel.[5] But it was clear from the first
that the limitations imposed by the number and size of the _Serindia_
plates, and even more perhaps by the cost of colour reproduction,
would not allow adequate justice being done to the artistic, as
distinguished from the iconographic and archaeological, value of the
paintings. It was equally easy to foresee that, however numerous the
small-scale reproductions in the plates of _Serindia_ might be, and
however thorough the description and analysis of the new materials in
its text, the very character, bulk, and correspondingly high price
of that detailed report would prevent it from making those paintings
sufficiently accessible to students interested mainly in their art.
For these and cognate reasons I had been anxious from the outset to
arrange for a separate publication like the present. But the attempts
made in this direction before my return to duty in India at the
close of 1911 failed from want of needful means, and subsequently
distance and absorbing exertions in the field, as implied by my third
Central-Asian expedition (1913–16), precluded their effective renewal.
That auspices proved more favourable on my return from that journey was
due mainly to the generous interest which a far-sighted statesman, the
Right Honourable Mr. Austen Chamberlain, then H.M. Secretary of State
for India, was pleased to show in the plan. His appreciation of the
importance of these pictorial treasures and of the need of securing
an adequate record of them before their impending division between
the British Museum and Delhi was largely instrumental in inducing the
authorities of the India Office, with the ready co-operation of the
Trustees of the British Museum, to sanction the present publication
at a cost not exceeding £1,900. Regard for the special difficulties
then prevailing owing to the war is an additional reason for Mr.
Chamberlain’s timely help being remembered by me with profound
gratitude.
The execution of the plates, both by three-colour and half-tone
process, was entrusted to Messrs. Henry Stone & Son, of Banbury, whose
establishment, under the expert direction of Mr. J. A. Milne, C.B.E.,
had already proved its special fitness for such work by producing the
colour plates for my _Desert Cathay_ and _Serindia_.[6] I feel all the
more grateful for the great skill and care bestowed by them upon the
truthful rendering of the paintings, and for the success achieved,
because I learned to know the considerable technical difficulties which
had to be faced, particularly in the case of the colour plates. After
my return to India in the autumn of 1917 Mr. Binyon kindly charged
himself in my place with all the arrangements which were needed in
connexion with the reproduction work.
It was under the constant and ever-watchful supervision of Mr. Laurence
Binyon that the exacting labours needed for the safe treatment and
future preservation of the Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings, and extending over
a period of close on seven years, had been effected in the Prints and
Drawings Department of the British Museum. To his unfailing knowledge
and care all students of these remains of Buddhist art owe gratitude
for the ease with which they can now be examined. But to those whom
the present publication is intended to reach he has rendered a service
equally great by contributing to it his _Introductory Essay_, The
expert guidance it affords as regards the evolution of Buddhist
pictorial art in the Far East and with regard to a variety of kindred
questions helps appreciably to reduce the loss which _The Thousand
Buddhas_ has suffered through M. Petrucci’s untimely death, and for
that help I feel deeply beholden.
That lamented event left me with a heavier obligation than I had
anticipated in regard to the text both of this publication and of
the corresponding portion of _Serindia_. In meeting this obligation I
realize fully the limitations of my competence. Though familiar with
the iconography of Graeco-Buddhist art and of such remains of Buddhist
art in Central Asia as I had the good fortune to bring to light myself,
I had never found leisure for a systematic study of the religious art
of the Far East or Tibet. There was enough in the archaeology of the
sites I had explored through the whole length of the Tārīm Basin and
along the westernmost Marches of China and in the geography and history
of those wide regions fully to occupy my attention. In addition, my
want of Sinologue qualifications made itself sadly felt.
Fortunately I had taken special care to secure a sufficiently
detailed description of all pictorial remains during the years of my
renewed absence in Central Asia and those immediately following. This
Descriptive List, now comprised in _Serindia_,[7] was prepared mainly
by the hand of Miss F. M. G. Lorimer, whose painstaking scholarly work
as assistant at my British Museum collection has proved throughout a
very valuable help. Besides M. Petrucci’s interpretations there was
embodied in it also much useful information received on artistic points
from my friend and chief assistant Mr. F. H. Andrews, and on Chinese
inscriptions from Dr. L. Giles and Mr. A. D. Waley of the British
Museum, as well as many helpful iconographic explanations kindly
furnished by two Japanese experts, Professor Taki and Mr. Yabuki. This
Descriptive List made it possible for me to provide in _Serindia_ a
systematic review of all our pictorial relics from Tun-huang,[8] and
this in turn has greatly facilitated the preparation of the descriptive
text for the present publication. For details which could not find
mention in it reference to the chapters of _Serindia_ already quoted
will prove useful.
It only remains for me to add my grateful acknowledgements for the
care which my friends Mr. F. H. Andrews, Mr. L. Binyon, and Mr. C.
E. Freeman have been kind enough to bestow, whether on plates or on
print, and to express the wish that the reception accorded to _The
Thousand Buddhas_ both in the West and the East may justify the hope
which prompted the sacrifice incurred for their sake at a time of great
strain and stress.
AUREL STEIN.
Camp, Mohand Marg,
Kashmir.
June 2, 1921.
[1] See _Ruins of Desert Cathay_ (Macmillan & Co., London, 1912), ii.
pp. 20–31, 163–234.
[2] See _Serindia_ Detailed Report on explorations in Central Asia
and Westernmost China, carried out and described under the orders of
H.M. Indian Government by Aurel Stein, K.C.I.E., Indian Archaeological
Survey (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1921, vols. i–v, Royal 4to), pp.
791–825.
[3] These contributions have since been printed in Appendix _E_ of
_Serindia_, pp. 1392–428, after having been carefully prepared for
publication by M. Chavannes, with the assistance of common friends, MM.
Foucher and Sylvain Lévi.
[4] See Petrucci, _Les peintures bouddhiques de Touen-houang, Mission
Stein_ (Annales du Musée Guimet, Bibliothèque de vulgarisation, xli,
1916, pp. 115–40).
[5] See Plates LVI-CIV in _Serindia_, vol. iv.
[6] Seven of those in the latter work have, with the kind permission of
the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, been used also here.
[7] See _Serindia_, Chapter XXV, section ii, pp. 937–1088.
[8] See _Serindia_, Chapter XXIII, sections i-ix, pp. 831–94.
THE TUN-HUANG PAINTINGS AND THEIR PLACE IN BUDDHIST ART
AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY BY LAURENCE BINYON
I
The paintings and drawings here reproduced are a selection from the
mass of precious material discovered by Sir Aurel Stein, and brought
away by him from ‘The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’ at Tun-huang, on
the extreme western frontier of China. The romantic circumstances of
the discovery have been fully described by Sir Aurel in the second
volume of his _Ruins of Desert Cathay_; and to those pages the reader
is referred. But it may be well to recall briefly the main facts of the
narrative.
In March 1907 Sir Aurel Stein’s expedition, which had left Kashmir in
April of the preceding year, arrived at Tun-huang. From Kāshgar the
travellers had proceeded to Yārkand; thence to Khotan, where Sir Aurel
on his previous journey in 1900–1 had disinterred such interesting
remains of the ancient civilization once flourishing in that region;
thence eastward along the southern skirts of the great desert,
exploring various sites by the way with rich results, till at Tun-huang
they found themselves at last within the western border of the Chinese
province of Kan-su.
Tun-huang is a square-walled town in a prosperous oasis of the
desert. Sir Aurel Stein had been attracted thither by the knowledge
that near the oasis were a number of sacred grottos known as ‘The
Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’, filled with ancient Buddhist frescoes
and sculptures.[1] But after arriving at Tun-huang, he also heard,
through a Muhammadan trader, rumours of something still more exciting
to the archaeologist—a hidden deposit of manuscripts which had been
accidentally discovered a few years previously in one of the caves.
In a barren valley to the south-east of the town, above a narrow
strip of irrigated soil, with rows of elms and poplars, there is a
cliff of conglomerate rock, which is honeycombed with hundreds of
cavities. These have been hollowed out to serve as Buddhist shrines,
still frequented by pious worshippers; and the walls of the cellas are
covered with old frescoes.
It was in one of the larger shrines that the deposit of manuscripts
had been discovered by the Taoist monk in charge of certain grottos.
The monk had collected money from the faithful, and had undertaken to
restore this particular shrine to its former splendour; a laborious
work, since the drifting of the sand and falls of crumbling rock had
here, as in many other cases, blocked the entrance of the cave, and
the sand and debris had to be cleared away before the actual work of
the restorer could begin. While the men engaged on this labour were
at work, they had noticed a crack in the frescoed wall of the passage
between temple and antechapel. An opening was found; and this led to
a recess hollowed out of the rock behind the stuccoed wall. The room
thus disclosed proved to be completely filled with rolls of manuscript.
Specimens had been sent to the Viceroy of the Province, but no steps
had been taken to remove them; and in fact when Sir Aurel Stein first
arrived at the Caves he found that the deposit was carefully locked
away behind a wooden door; and when, after leaving Tun-huang for a
month’s journey of exploration, he returned in May, a brick wall had
been added to protect the hidden treasure.
The reader must go to _Ruins of Desert Cathay_ for the full account
of the stages by which the Taoist priest who guarded the shrines was
induced first to show some specimens, and finally to let Sir Aurel
carry off a goodly hoard of the manuscripts and most of the pictorial
remains.
The cave had been said to contain only MSS.; and bundles of MSS. were
there in immense quantities; but on opening one of the bundles Sir
Aurel was delighted to find that it contained paintings on silk. The
paintings were all, or nearly all, crumpled up. It seems as if they had
been hurriedly thrust away in the vault on some sudden alarm, probably
of a barbarian raid. And, in fact, on one of the pictures is a votive
inscription praying to Kuan-yin for protection against the Tartars and
the Tibetans. The position of Tun-huang on the westernmost frontier of
China, at the intersection of the great trade-route across Asia, from
east to west, with the high road between Mongolia in the north and
Tibet in the south, naturally exposed it to incursions and invasions.
Internal evidence of dated documents seems to show that the treasure,
or at any rate the great bulk of it, was hidden away soon after the
close of the tenth century A.D.
To complete the story, we must add that M. Pelliot, the distinguished
savant and traveller, paid a visit a year later to the Caves and
was allowed to carry off what remained of the paintings and a large
selection from the hoard of manuscripts. These are now in the
Bibliothèque Nationale and in the Louvre. What was left of Chinese
manuscripts was subsequently transmitted by official order to Peking;
much being ‘lost’ on the way.
Not till the paintings were brought to London could any real
examination of them be made. Each packet had to be carefully opened,
and the brittle, dusty silk, sometimes in a hundred fragments, opened
out, cleaned, and, where necessary, pieced together. This was done
at the British Museum; and it was a labour of years for the staff of
mounters attached to the Print Room.
The paintings were carefully cleaned, and the colours were found in
most cases to have lost little of their pristine depth and brightness;
though where a certain verdigris green was used, it has tended to eat
away the silk on which it was laid, a whole figure in some cases having
thus disappeared and left only its surrounding outline. Any attempt at
restoration or retouching has been scrupulously avoided; but when a
painting which is in fragments has been laid down on silk of a neutral
tone, and mounted, the eye is easily carried over the gaps, and the
main design reappears. Several of the paintings still retain their
original borders, usually of a dull mulberry-purple silk. The small
banners, of which a great quantity were found, had all originally a
pediment-shaped head-piece, and long silk streamers with a wooden
weight at the bottom to steady the banner as it hung. These banners are
mostly painted on both sides.
The delicate work of mounting and cleaning was done by Mr. S. W.
Littlejohn, Chief Mounter in the Department of Prints and Drawings,
assisted in later stages by Mr. Y. Urushibara, a Japanese artist and
craftsman. Meanwhile the large embroidery picture (Pl. XXXIV) had
been skilfully stitched on to a new backing of canvas by Miss E. A.
Winter of the Royal School of Art Needlework. A selection of the most
important pictures, drawings, and woodcuts formed part of an exhibition
of treasures of all sorts brought back by Sir Aurel Stein from his
second expedition and set out in the long lower gallery of the new wing
of the British Museum opened by H.M. the King in May 1914. The outbreak
of the War so soon after, and the subsequent closing of the Museum,
unfortunately prevented the exhibition from becoming adequately known
to the public. In 1917 Mr. Littlejohn, who had received a commission in
the R.G.A., was killed in action. During his last months at the Museum
he had been preparing a note on the origin of the system of mounting
pictures as _kakemono_, to use the convenient Japanese term. Those
familiar with Japanese pictures know that _kakemono_ are paintings
mounted on silk, with borders of brocade above and below the design,
and with two narrow strips of silk hanging down from above. These have
been explained as intended to keep away birds, or evil spirits; but
neither theory has ever seemed satisfactory; and in the streamers of
the Tun-huang banners, as Mr. Littlejohn perceived, was a much more
plausible explanation of their origin. They are a survival. And other
details in the Japanese (originally Chinese) system of mounting could
be explained, he suggested, by a reference to this forgotten origin.
II
The pictorial treasures brought away from Tun-huang by Sir Aurel, and
now divided between the Indian Government and the British Museum,
consist of votive paintings (mostly on silk, though a certain number
are on paper) of various sizes, some being as much as six or seven feet
high; of a long series of small banners on silk and larger banners on
linen; of one or two magnificent specimens of embroidery, the finest of
which is reproduced (Pls. XXXIV and XXXV); of outline drawings, and of
woodcuts.
The present publication is intended to illustrate the specimens which
have most importance for the study of Eastern art.
The paintings and drawings, with a few unimportant exceptions, are all
of Buddhist inspiration. At first sight the limitation of scope and the
repetition of similar themes may give an impression of monotony. Closer
study reveals a remarkable variety. This variety is due to differences
of style, which are accounted for partly by the different dates, still
more by the different localities at which they were produced, partly by
the very varying degrees of skill in the painters who produced them.
Being all found in one place, the paintings might be supposed to be all
the product of a single local school. But this is certainly not the
case, as a brief examination shows at once. There are specimens (of
little account as art) which are purely Indian in style and probably
Nepalese; there are examples of the well-defined Tibetan type of
Buddhist picture; there are paintings which are entirely Chinese; and
there are, lastly, a number which contain Indian, Chinese, and possibly
Tibetan elements in varying proportions, but are in an intermediate
style and may safely be held to be the product of local schools of
Chinese Turkestān, and of the region which, on the east, joins it to
China proper.
Until a few years ago, scarcely anything was known in Europe of
Buddhist painting beyond the famous frescoes of Ajaṇṭā in India and
Buddhist paintings by Japanese masters, of which the frescoes in the
Horiuji Temple at Nara are among the oldest and most celebrated. It
was known that the Japanese modelled their work closely on Chinese
tradition; and a few Chinese Buddhist paintings of early periods are
preserved in Japan; but while an extensive series of ancient Japanese
_Butsu-yé_ exists, corresponding specimens from China are very rare
indeed. And if the early Buddhist art of China was little known, still
less was known of the intermediate links in the tradition which passed
on from India to China through Turkestān. But now, through successive
explorations and discoveries, the story of Buddhist art and the phases
of its progress eastwards through Asia are fairly plain and familiar.
And some of the most illuminating and important documents have been
supplied by the discoveries of Sir Aurel Stein.
In the paintings with which we are dealing, the Indian element is
obviously very strong, just as ‘The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’,
where they were found, were hollowed out of the cliff in obedience to
immemorial Indian tradition: we are reminded at once of the frescoed
caves of Ajaṇṭā. But there are other elements besides the Indian, as we
shall see.
How did Buddhism penetrate into Central Asia? From India proper it
travelled by way of the extreme north-west frontier, the valley
of Peshawar, then known as the kingdom of Gandhāra; thence to the
countries lying north, and so eastwards by the great trade-route across
the desert to China. Gandhāra is the first stage of this long journey:
and it was in Gandhāra that the Buddhist art of the Further East, as
we know it, was first formulated. The now well-known sculptures of
Gandhāra, a fine series of which may be seen in the British Museum,
date from about the first century of our era to about the sixth. They
represent a late Hellenistic tradition put to the service of the
Indian religion. It was in Gandhāra that the types of Buddhist art
became fixed. It was there that the type of Śākyamuni himself was
first invented, or rather adapted from the ideal forms of Hellenistic
sculpture. For some centuries after the Buddha’s death, Indian artists
had always refrained from representing the image of the Lord.
The Hellenistic element, apparent in poses, in drapery, in decorative
motifs like the acanthus-ornament, tends to become submerged in
the later phases of the art, though something of it still persists
recognizably in the Buddhist art of remote Japan, even to-day. At a
desert site of Khotan, the little kingdom lying at the southern edge
of the Taklamakān Desert, beyond the mountains on the north-eastern
frontier of Ladākh and Kashmir, Sir Aurel Stein found on his first
expedition (1900–1) the remains of settlements abandoned to the
encroaching sand about the third century A.D. Among these remains were
heaps of letters and documents written in early Indian script and
language on wooden tablets, tied with string and sealed; and in most
cases the seal was a Greek seal, engraved with a figure of Athene,
Heracles, or other deity. Again, at Mīrān, a site near Lop-nōr and much
further east, Sir Aurel, on his second expedition, discovered Buddhist
shrines adorned with frescoes of about the fourth century A.D. painted
in the style of late classical tradition.
Fascinating as are these traces of Greece and the West in the midst
of the Asian deserts, the influence of Hellenism was not profound or
formative. India was the main influence on the culture of the cities
once flourishing along the chain of oases in the deserts west of China,
Buddhism the great civilizing factor, and Gandhāra the source from
which the local schools of art drew their inspiration. Gandhāra art was
itself not without some admixture from Persian sources; and Iranian
motives of decoration are found in these desert sites, as they are
found in China itself, just as some of the Tun-huang manuscripts are
written in the Iranian dialect called Sogdian. The art of Turkestān is
full of mixed influences, the reflection of its civilization.
And what of China? For during the second century B.C. and the
two centuries following China pursued a policy of political and
military expansion westward, with a view to opening up trade-routes,
consolidating her frontiers and protecting them from the ravages of
the Huns and other tribes; and Eastern Turkestān became a Chinese
protectorate. Though afterwards China’s hold became weakened and
her power receded, in the seventh century A.D., under an Emperor of
the great T‘ang dynasty, the whole region came again under Chinese
government, and the Empire’s political sphere of influence was extended
as far as the borders of Persia and the shores of the Caspian. But
Chinese influence seems to have been confined mainly to administration,
and to have affected but little the culture of the people, though
traces of it are discernible in their arts and industries, ever more
marked as we go further east.
This way passed the old great high road between east and west, by
which the Chinese silks were carried overland to Antioch and the
Roman Empire. It was a highway for commerce, but also for ideas and
religions. And the early centuries of our era were marked by an
extraordinary ferment of mystical beliefs both in east and west. While
Christianity and Mithraism were contending for supremacy in the Roman
Empire, Buddhism was making its victorious progress eastwards. But
it was no longer the simple ethical doctrine preached by Gautama.
Mahāyāna Buddhism, as the later development of Buddhism is called—the
Great Vehicle, as opposed to the Hīnayāna, or Small Vehicle, of the
original doctrine—was first formulated about the first century A.D.
It was no longer the salvation of the individual which was the aim of
the devout, but the salvation of the whole world, towards which the
Bodhisattvas strive unceasingly out of their boundless love for every
sentient being. The Bodhisattvas in this new phase of Buddhism became
more and more the object of popular worship. They are either men who,
having won the right to enter Buddhahood, refuse that peace for the
sake of suffering mankind, or else celestial beings who assume a human
form. Of this last order of beings is Avalokiteśvara, whom the Chinese
know as Kuan-yin, and the Japanese as Kwannon; the favourite object
of adoration in Mahāyāna Buddhism. He appears in art both in male and
female form. In later art the female form is almost universal, but in
the Tun-huang paintings the male form is predominant. Avalokiteśvara is
the spiritual son of Amitābha, the impersonal Buddha, the Light of the
Enlightened; and Amitābha is said to have created a Paradise in the
West, where souls who believe in him may be born and rest for a long
age, or in popular belief for ever. Śākyamuni, we note, has no longer
the supreme position, though sometimes he is painted as reigning over a
Paradise, or, as in the large embroidery-picture (Pl. XXXIV), standing
on the Vulture Peak, the scene of his last teaching.
As Avalokiteśvara is incarnate Pity, so, among other great
Bodhisattvas, Mañjuśrī embodies the Spirit of Wisdom, Samantabhadra
stands for the power of the Church, Kṣitigarbha is the breaker of the
powers of Hell and the illuminator of its darkness. Bhaiṣajyarāja is
the lord of medicine; and Maitreya is the Buddha that is to come.
Besides the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, the Lokapālas or Demon Kings who
guard each one of the Four Quarters of the World are frequent figures
in art. These are survivals of primitive demon-worship adopted into
Buddhism.
The subjects of the Tun-huang paintings are, then, single figures
of Bodhisattvas, especially of Avalokiteśvara, or of the Lokapālas;
small pictures of scenes from Gautama’s life, or the Jātakas, stories
of his lives in previous incarnations; and representations of the
Western Paradise. This last subject is sometimes highly elaborated,
with an immense number of figures of the blest grouped in pavilions
and terraces built about a lotus lake. Flowers are rained through the
air, and celestial beings dance and sing for the delight of the souls
dwelling in the Happy Land of Amitābha’s creation.
All this carries us far indeed from the Four Noble Truths and the
Eightfold Path—the simple doctrine in which Śākyamuni taught the means
of Salvation here on earth. Much of this later Buddhism was doubtless
an accretion from other faiths with which it came in contact on its
progress through Asia. Amitābha may be a borrowing from the worship
of Mithras; and certain of the Bodhisattvas may have been originally
deified heroes of lands into which Buddhism made its way. In Eastern
Turkestān, Manichaeism, the religion founded by the Persian Mani in the
third century A.D., found a home; and at Turfān—one of the oases which
have been explored—Manichaeans, Buddhists, and Christians were living
peaceably side by side.
For the study of religion, then, the art found in the various sites
on the borders of the Taklamakān and Lop deserts is of extraordinary
interest. But, as art, it is of a local and provincial type, and though
often of considerable merit, it nowhere rises beyond a certain level.
III
But at Tun-huang we are within the frontiers of China proper; and
Chinese art during the T‘ang period, seventh to tenth century A.D.,
was at its grandest height of power. The extraordinary interest of
these paintings is that, though a great number of them are, as we might
expect, obviously provincial productions (e.g. Pls. XXIV and XXVI),
others belong to the central tradition of Chinese Buddhist painting;
and as scarcely any such paintings of the T‘ang period are known to
exist, the importance of this group, for the study of Chinese art, can
hardly be overestimated.
How do we know that these paintings belong to that central tradition?
We know it from the early Buddhist paintings of Japan, of which noble
masterpieces (some perhaps actually Chinese) are preserved in the
Japanese temples. Even if we did not know that the early Japanese
painters founded their style entirely on the T‘ang masters, the
Tun-huang pictures, sometimes so singularly close to the Japanese
Buddhist art of the same period, would prove it.
Plate III reproduces rather more than the left-hand half of a large
painting, which itself seems to be only the upper portion of a still
larger composition. The original offers extreme difficulties to
photography; and though the reproduction is more successful than
might have been anticipated, it is necessary to study the original to
appreciate the delicacy of the drawing, especially of the faces of
the Bodhisattvas. The serene grandeur of the design is enhanced by a
pervasion of grace in the delineation of every form. Here, surely, is
the hand of a master. Rivalling this in beauty is the large painting
of which a portion is reproduced on Plate I, and another portion on
Plate II. Here there is a similar delicate expressiveness of drawing,
combined with a glowing animation of varied colour. The picture is full
of exquisite detail. Note the life and charm, for instance, in the
figure seated with her back to us in the window of the high pavilion in
the upper right-hand portion, next the border (Pl. I). Here again is a
master of individual temperament.
In both of these pictures the artist has been able to control his
complex material and multitude of forms into a wonderful harmony,
without any restlessness or confusion; and we are taken into an
atmosphere of strange peace, which yet seems filled with buoyant motion
and with floating strains of music.
None of the other pictures is, as art, quite on this level, the
tendency being for the quality of the workmanship to be inadequate
to the conception and design. The two grand fragments illustrated
on Plates IV and V; the Avalokiteśvara (Pl. XX); the Vaiśravaṇa
crossing the ocean (Pl. XLV) are perhaps nearest. And next would come
such examples as the Avalokiteśvara in Glory (Pl. XVII) and other
representations of the same Bodhisattva (Pls. XVIII, XIX, XXI), and
some of the Paradise pictures, and banners; but as we gradually descend
the scale, an insensitive execution contrasts more and more with the
dignity and grandeur of the design. These were not great painters, but
they belonged to a great school. In such a picture as the Two Forms
of Avalokiteśvara (Pl. XV) we feel that if only the rather inanimate
workmanship corresponded to the grandeur of the design, we should be in
presence of a masterpiece. We have a hint at least of what majesty the
T’ang masters must have been capable.
This group of paintings gives to the collection found at Tun-huang an
artistic importance quite beyond that of any of the groups of works of
art discovered by various expeditions in Turkestān; and it is worth
while to examine them a little more closely.
The flooding wave of Indian religion and Indian art, after traversing
a region of inferior cultures, meets in China for the first time
an established art of original power and native genius. The Indian
religion, in spite of vicissitudes and rebuffs, takes a firm hold on
the Chinese. Buddhist paintings are demanded of the great masters. Of
what character is the resulting art?
We are unable to say what the earliest treatment of Buddhist themes by
Chinese artists was like. Buddhist images were introduced from India
as early as the first century A.D., and were eagerly sought for and
studied in succeeding times. Plate XIV—the original of which is, so
far as we know, unique—is of singular interest; for it consists of
a group of drawings after Indian Buddhist statues—just such as the
great pilgrim of the seventh century, Hsüan-tsang, might have brought
back from his long journeyings among the sacred sites of India. In
the fourth century the famous painter Ku K‘ai-chih painted, we know,
many Buddhist subjects, but neither the ‘Admonitions’ in the British
Museum, nor the _Ló-shen Fu_ in the Freer Collection, shows any trace
of Buddhist or Indian influence; on the contrary, they show the purely
native style of China in its integrity.
That purely native style is found in the paintings we are examining,
but not as a rule in the treatment of the main subjects. Many of the
large pictures of Paradise have borders on either side, divided into
compartments, in which are painted scenes from the Jātakas or stories
of the former lives of Buddha. One is reminded of the predella pictures
of an Italian altar-piece. Plate I affords a good example, showing
part of the right-hand border of the picture. And here the figures,
the dresses, the landscape, the style of drawing, the spacing, are all
Chinese. Were it not for the subject-matter, no one would dream of
suggesting any influence from India. In the small banners, these Jātaka
episodes form sometimes the entire subject, three or more scenes being
usually painted one above the other. Examples are reproduced on Plate
XII, Plate XIII, and Plate XXXVII. On these banners we find scenes
from the legend of Śākyamuni in his last life on earth; his conception
by his mother, his birth in the Lumbinī garden, his first steps, his
athletic feats as a boy; his first meeting with death and sickness; his
flight from the palace at midnight. Even here everything is Chinese:
types, costume, architecture, pictorial conventions; it is only
after Gautama has taken up his mission and begun to teach that he is
represented in Indian guise, according to the traditions derived from
Gandhāra.
How comes it, then, that in portraying the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
the saints and Lokapālas or Demon Kings, the Chinese painters
follow so closely the Indian formula? We may suppose that just
as fifteenth-century painters in Italy and the Netherlands, in
representing Gospel scenes, portrayed Christ and his disciples dressed
in a conventional, supposedly Oriental garb, but painted secular
persons and spectators in the costume of their own time and place,
so it was with these Chinese artists. And perhaps this is sufficient
explanation. Yet, when we remark what fidelity to Gandhāran models
was observed, once the Chinese artists had come to know them; when
we remember that the Jātaka scenes were frequent subjects of the
school of Gandhāra and were of course treated in the same style as the
Bodhisattvas; and when we consider that Buddha himself, in his youth,
is portrayed in these banner paintings as a Chinese boy in Chinese
dress, we may be tempted by another hypothesis. We may suppose that
when the Buddha-legends were first illustrated by Chinese painters they
were known by written and oral tradition only, and that the painters,
having no models to fall back upon, painted the chosen scenes in
their own way and according to their own lights; and this style, this
treatment, once fixed, remained. It might be that the tradition thus
formed (which, be it noticed, is continued in Japanese art throughout)
represents an earlier phase of Buddhism, when the Buddha-legend was
more prominent in the mouths of missionaries than the worship of the
Bodhisattvas. But all this is conjecture, and the simpler explanation
may be the right one.
At any rate, what we have to note is the fact that Chinese painting had
already developed a powerful genius of its own, and, however much it
borrowed, was able to fuse its borrowings in its own style. But before
dealing with this question of the fusion of Indian subject-matter in
Chinese style, let us complete what there is to say about the purely
Chinese features in the Tun-huang paintings.
Besides the illustrations of Jātaka-legends, there are at the foot
of many of the pictures portraits of their donors. These are most
valuable documents for the student of Chinese painting; for they give
us portraits of people actually living at a certain date, they show
us what costume they wore—thereby often helping us to determine the
approximate date of undated pictures—and they afford more than a hint
of the prevalent style of drawing in secular art.
Every one who has studied the earlier art of China knows how difficult
it is to find a really trustworthy starting-point for dating pictures
and arriving at a sound conception of the style of a given period.
We have usually only an ancient tradition, at the best, of date and
authorship. But here we have dated work, from which we can start.
Among the paintings reproduced is one, ‘Four Forms of Avalokiteśvara’
(Pl. XVI), which bears a date corresponding to the year A.D. 864. This
is the earliest date found on any of the paintings. Others bear dates
of the late ninth and early tenth centuries.
Comparing the picture reproduced on Plate XVI with other pictures
which are not dated, we can have little hesitation in assigning the
great majority of the paintings to the second half of the Tang dynasty
(seventh to tenth centuries) and towards its close, though it would be
rash to attempt any minute determination of dates, for reasons already
given.
We know nothing certain of Chinese painting before Tang times, except
the painting in the British Museum, ‘Admonitions of the Instructress
in the Palace’, and the ‘Ló-shen Fu’ in the Freer Collection, both
ascribed to Ku K‘ai-chih. Whether either of these be allowed to be
an original of the fourth century or not, there can be no doubt that
they represent the style of that period in its main characteristics:
they show a great mastery of expressive drawing of the human figure,
an extraordinary command of finely modulated, sinuous line, a love of
it both for its own sake and as expressive of movement, and a quite
primitive and rudimentary treatment of landscape.
The paintings we are now considering afford no adequate material
for comparison; but one thing is at once noticeable, and that is
the altered ideal of the human form; in place of the tall, slender
proportions of Ku K‘ai-chih, T‘ang art substitutes shorter and more
massive proportions. An ideal of power has superseded an ideal of grace.
Hints of the treatment of landscape, primitive by comparison with the
mature Sung art, but decidedly more advanced than Ku K‘ai-chih’s, are
also of much interest.
Among the Tun-huang paintings there is at least one (Pl. XXXVIII) which
seems to be in an earlier style than the rest. This painting of Buddha
attended by divinities of the Planets comes nearer to the style we find
in Ku K‘ai-chih, both in its finer, drier line, in its proportions of
the figure, its generally more primitive aspect, and its comparative
freedom from Indian influence. The bannered chariot may be compared
with the chariot in the Ku K‘ai-chih picture in the Freer Collection.
And yet this picture is dated with a year corresponding to A.D. 897,
actually later than the ‘Four Forms of Avalokiteśvara’. Similarly a
woodcut, dated A.D. 947, is much ruder and more primitive-looking
than another dated A.D. 868. These facts and comparisons warn us of
the danger of attempting to assign dates too confidently. It may well
be that the paintings which are actually the earliest have the least
primitive aspect. Another example which has an archaic air is the
small picture of Kṣitigarbha enthroned, on blue silk (Pl. XXXIX); but
here, too, we may doubt whether the primitive features may not be due
to provincial style preserving old tradition rather than to actual
antiquity. At the same time it must be remembered that dates going as
far back as the fifth century A.D. are found among the manuscripts
heaped in the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas; there is no reason
therefore why some of the paintings should not be considerably older
than the earliest dated specimen.
One or two paintings in the collection seem to have been added to the
hidden store at a later date. Such is the painting reproduced on Plate
XXXVIII of Avalokiteśvara conducting a soul. This is exceptionally well
preserved, and both the style and the costume of the woman point to a
date more recent than late T‘ang. It is a painting of great beauty.
We may now return to the question of the way in which Indian
subject-matter was fused in Chinese style.
As we have seen, the narrative-pictures, depicting episodes from the
Jātakas, were originally painted in a purely native manner, the whole
theme being bodily translated into Chinese terms; and this tradition
persisted, and even in Japan the Buddha legend is given a Chinese
dress. But with the devotional pictures it was different. As early as
the fifth century, Chinese artists, as we know from the sculptures at
Yün-kang, were copying the Gandhāra types of the Bodhisattvas, though,
as M. Petrucci has observed, the Gandhāra tradition appears at Yün-kang
‘à l’état de débris, comme une chose finissante’. We may suppose that
the copying of Gandhāra models went on for a time side by side with
the complete translation of Indian story into Chinese formula. But by
degrees the Chinese genius asserted itself; and probably the advent of
Wu Tao-tzŭ and a few other men of genius gave a fresh character to the
Buddhist art of T‘ang.
The Chinese genius is strong just where the Indian genius is weak. The
bent of the Indian artist is to pour out his emotions and imaginings in
a torrent, shaping them to form and colour as they come; he delights
in exuberance and a fine excess; he cannot bear to leave a corner of
his space unfilled. If we compare the Ajaṇṭā frescoes with the best
of the Tun-huang paintings, say with that partly reproduced on Plate
III, we feel a different instinct at work. The Indian painters draw
their figures and animals with an admirably expressive power and sense
of life; they have freshness of vision, and spontaneous vigour, and
directness of emotion. And it is part of their spontaneousness that
in grouping figures together they accept the accidental appearances
of form, with a result that is often restless to the eye. In the
Tun-huang painting we feel that the artist obeys an instinct which
controls the complex lines of many grouped figures into a continuous
reposeful harmony; a subtle relation between form and form and between
group and group is set up; these relations rather than delineation
of objects engross the painter. There is a sense of movement in the
passage of the great Bodhisattva on his pacing elephant, preceded and
attended by blessed beings, but it is as if they moved to music; and
the sinuous streaming of the cloud on which a cluster of happy souls is
borne enhances this effect of serene and rhythmic motion. This subtle
unifying instinct of design inheres in the Chinese genius.
Look, again, at the small paintings of Jātaka scenes at the side of
Plate I, and note even there the use of spacing. In contrast with
Indian artists, the Chinese understand to the full the power of
suggestion and the value of reticence. They know how to foil forms in
movement with forms in repose, rich detail with empty space, so as
to stir in the spectator the intensest appreciation of each particular
element. Space is not, in Chinese painting, something left over and
unfilled; it is a positive power and an integral factor in design.
In the typical classics of Chinese art these special powers in the
control of ordered, fluent line, and in mastery of spacing, are
magnificently displayed. But even in these Tun-huang pictures, where
the subject-matter, the imagery, and the canons of ideal form are taken
over from India, we feel how all this is being fused in the fire of a
different genius. And in such a picture as the large Paradise (Pls. I
and II) how potently this genius is at work, controlling all these many
groups of crowded figures, and this built-up composition, with all its
various colours, in the spell of a single mood of immaterial felicity
and peace!
IV
It has been mentioned that a series of Nepalese paintings of
Bodhisattvas were found at Tun-huang. These are precious documents,
because of the extreme rarity of Indian paintings of so early a period;
but as their artistic interest is but slight, they have not been
chosen for illustration. Plate XXXI reproduces a Tibetan painting. The
territory of Tun-huang was conquered by the Tibetans in the middle of
the eighth century A.D., and till the middle of the ninth century the
Tibetan power was dominant. Quantities of Tibetan Buddhist writings
were found in the cave: and among the paintings this one, certainly,
is entirely Tibetan in style. (Two Tibetan drawings are reproduced on
Pl. XXXII.) It is of the same type as the numerous pictures brought
from Tibet itself in recent years, collections of which are in the
British Museum, and in other museums of Europe and America. With regard
to these pictures the question of date has always been a matter of
conjecture. Many are darkened by incense-smoke, which in a few years
can give an appearance of impressive antiquity. The probability is
that the Tun-huang specimen dates from about the tenth century, and,
if so, it is likely to be the oldest of its kind now in existence, or
at the least one of the oldest. It is painted in distemper on linen, a
technique favoured by the Tibetan artists.
But how did this Tibetan art grow up? What is the indigenous element
in it? Buddhism was only introduced into the country in the seventh
century, and whether Tibet had any art to speak of before its
introduction we do not know. In Tibetan Buddhism the Tantra system
of magic and witchcraft, and the worship of demons (supposed to be
converted by Buddha and to be vassals under his sovereignty), play a
dominant part; and in the paintings the forms are often monstrous and
horrible, the colouring sombrely splendid. But the harmonies of fluid,
sinuous line, for which they are even more remarkable, seem to be an
element borrowed from Chinese art and carried to excess in Tibet. If
we compare for a moment this painting with, for instance, the one
reproduced on Plate XLII, we see how much this element counts for. And
on the whole it seems likeliest to suppose that Tibetan painting is
rather an offshoot of Chinese art, developed in a certain direction,
and so acquiring a special character, than a native growth. But of this
we cannot be certain.
Plate XLII illustrates, much reduced, an imposing example of the kind
of painting in a mixed style which flourished in Eastern Turkestān.
Note how the flowers dropping through the air suggest none of that
sense of the fragility of flowers, and of their light floating on the
air, which the Chinese artist knows instinctively how to give: they are
heavy and motionless. There is a certain rigidity and solidity in the
whole picture; and the effect of solidity is consciously aimed at by
the system of modelling the central figure in two tones of colour. This
system is carried yet further in Plate X, where high lights on nose and
forehead (blackened through oxidization in some places) have been added
in white. Compare also Plate XI, illustrating a very large painting of
similar character, full of the most interesting detail (note the babies
enclosed within the lotus-buds, souls of the blessed about to be born
into Paradise). These pictures are painted in what Sir Aurel Stein
calls ‘the fresco style’, because they repeat on silk the manner of
the fresco paintings of Tun-huang. In all these pictures the Chinese
element is present but not dominant; and the system of modelling in two
tones of colour comes, we cannot doubt, from the west. It is true that
it was sometimes copied by the Chinese in their Buddhist paintings, as
we know from early Japanese examples following Chinese prototypes: but
the Chinese of T‘ang times were intensely interested in the western
countries; they liked to introduce figures of people from those regions
into their pictures; and, as we know, a painter from Khotan settled in
China in the eighth century and had great success there. But the desire
to suggest mass and roundness by means of modelling in painting was
against the instincts of the Chinese and Japanese; it occurs only in
certain Buddhist pictures, the survival of a borrowing from the west
preserved by hieratic tradition.
One of the finest of all the Tun-huang pictures is not a painting but
a piece of embroidery. Unfortunately it does not lend itself well to
photography in colour; and its quality and impressive character are
merely suggested in the small Plate (Pl. XXXIV) and in the detail
with a group of donors (Pl. XXXV). Though merely the reproduction
by craftsmen of a master’s work, it shows such skill and taste in
execution, it is so fine in colour, and so well preserved, that it must
be ranked with the very finest of the paintings as an indication of the
grandeur of the Buddhist art of T‘ang.
[1] For the wall-paintings and sculptures of the cave-temples of
Tun-huang, see now the fine reproductions in M. Paul Pelliot’s _Les
Grottes de Touen-houang, Peintures et Sculptures des époques des Wei,
des T‘ang et des Song_ (Paris, Paul Geuthner, in progress).
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF PICTURES FROM THE CAVES OF THE THOUSAND BUDDHAS
AT TUN-HUANG
BY
AUREL STEIN
PLATES I, II
THE PARADISE OF BHAIṢAJYAGURU
The first two plates reproduce portions, on half the scale of the
original, from the right and left of a large painting on silk (Ch. lii.
003), remarkable for its noble design, the delicacy of its drawing,
and its glowing colours. In spite of the damage it has suffered along
its sides and bottom (see _Serindia_, Pl. LVII) it still measures
close on seven feet in height and over five and a half feet across.
It represents a Buddhist Paradise and, according to M. Petrucci’s
interpretation, the one presided over by Bhaiṣajyaguru, the Buddha
of Medicine, whose cult since an early period has been widespread in
Northern Buddhism from Tibet to Japan. His Heaven is placed in the
East by sacred texts preserved in the Chinese Tripiṭaka. In their
descriptions as well as in our painting Bhaiṣajyaguru’s Paradise shares
the essential features of that still more popular abode of Buddhist
bliss, the Western Paradise, or _Sukhāvatī_, presided over by the
Buddha Amitābha. Of this the ‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’ have
preserved numerous representations both among the pictures recovered
from the walled-up chapel (see Pls. VI–VIII, X–XI) and among the mural
paintings decorating the temples. But the legendary scenes occupying
the side panels of our painting and connected with Bhaiṣajyaguru are
different, and so are also certain details in the arrangement and
personnel of the main subject. These distinctive features are found
again in another somewhat less elaborate picture of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s
Paradise, reproduced in Plate XXXVI.
His Heaven presents itself in our picture, as in all the large Paradise
paintings of Tun-huang, as a great assemblage of celestial beings,
elaborately staged on richly decorated terraces and courts which rise
above a lotus lake. On the sides and behind the terraces there are seen
pavilions and elaborate structures of characteristically Chinese style,
representing the heavenly mansions. It is in this sumptuous setting
that Chinese Buddhism has visualized from an early period the idea of
a Paradise where the souls of believers in the Law may be reborn, free
from all taint, in the buds of the lotus lake to enjoy thereafter for
aeons, or in popular belief for ever, blissful rest and pleasures in
the company of Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and other beatified personalities.
The scheme of the whole, as in all representations of Buddhist Heavens
among the Tun-huang paintings, is ordered on the strictly symmetrical
lines of a ‘Maṇḍala’, buildings, trees, groups, and even individual
figures balancing each other on either side of the picture and all
centring round the presiding Buddha in the middle.
Here we see Bhaiṣajyaguru seated with folded legs and wearing a crimson
mantle over a green under-robe. While his right hand is raised as usual
in the _vitarka-mudrā_, the left holds the begging bowl in his lap.
Behind him a couple of flowering trees support a hexagonal canopy of
red drapery. A halo and nimbus of manifold but harmoniously blended
colours surround the Buddha’s figure, which in pose and dress and
in the features of the mild pensive face bears the impress of the
type first evolved in Graeco-Buddhist art even more clearly than the
figures of the surrounding Bodhisattvas. Of these the two enthroned are
identified by M. Petrucci with Mañjuśrī on the right and Samantabhadra
on the left. Above these two chief Bodhisattvas rise six-tiered
umbrellas wreathed in clouds, about which float gracefully poised
figures of Apsaras. The rich flowing garments, which include shawl-like
stoles, and the abundant jewelled ornaments of the two are shared also
by other haloed figures obviously meant for Bodhisattvas, who appear in
attendance on the central Buddha or in varying supple poses occupy the
fore portion of the terrace. The features of all are drawn with extreme
delicacy and pleasing variety of expression, the eyes being in many
cases almost straight, while the flesh is white, with shading in tints
of pink.
By the side of either of the enthroned Bodhisattvas there is seen a
composite group of divinities, unhaloed and five on each side, of
types not ordinarily met with among the attendants in these Paradise
pictures. Three figures in each group are warrior kings, recalling the
Lokapālas, or Guardians of the Four Regions (see Pls. XLV, XLVII),
by their gorgeous armour and head-dresses. The features of most of
them are grotesque, and this aspect of their appearance is enhanced
by the animal figures, including a dragon, gryphon, phoenix, and
peacock, which are shown rising above their shoulders or elsewhere
in conjunction with them. Each group includes the figure of a demon
closely resembling those which are usually met with in the _cortège_ of
Lokapālas (see Pls. XXVI, XLV). The demon on the right raises a naked
infant on his hand, just as the demon in the fragmentary painting of
Plate XLVI. Immediately behind the enthroned Buddha on the left is seen
a youthful personage wearing what looks like a magistrate’s head-dress,
while the corresponding position on the right is occupied by a warrior
with three faces. Perhaps he represents Brahman and the former divinity
Indra.
Before the central Buddha and in the middle of the picture is seen a
large platform projecting from the main terrace and carrying a draped
altar with sacred vessels. On either side of it kneel two unhaloed
figures in graceful poses holding up offerings and suggesting nymphs.
Projecting still further into the foreground is a smaller platform,
and on it a dancer performs in rapid movement to the strains of an
orchestra of eight seated musicians. The dancing figure, unmistakably
that of a girl, is dressed in a billowy orange skirt tied round the
hips and a close-fitting crimson jacket reaching only to the waist and
surmounted by a metal-bound plastron. Her head and arms are richly
adorned with jewellery. From behind the neck issues a long narrow stole
which her hands wave as she dances. The figures of the musicians, four
on each side, resemble those of Bodhisattvas in features and dress, but
the shawl-like stoles over the shoulders are absent. Those to the left
play on a harp, two lutes, and a psaltery, while those to the right
play on clappers, flute, Chinese reed-organ, and pipe. The instruments,
of which several have their ancient Japanese counterparts among the
treasures of the Shōsōin collection (see _Shōsōin Catalogue_, i. Pls.
56, 60), have been fully described in Miss Schlesinger’s expert notes
in Appendix _K_ to _Serindia_.
At the head of each line of musicians there is seen in the background
a small but very curious figure, that of a fat half-naked infant
violently dancing and playing, the one to the left on a narrow-waisted
drum, the one to the right apparently on castanets. Judging from other
Paradise pictures we may assume that these playing infants represent
newly reborn souls who in the joy of their celestial childhood have
been drawn to join the happy scene of music and dancing.
A kind of gangway projects in front of the dancer’s platform into
the lotus lake, and at its entrance stands a Garuḍa with widespread
wings, playing on cymbals. From the lake rise trees and purple or
scarlet lotus buds and flowers, the latter supporting souls reborn.
Two of these, at the extreme right and left, are sitting upright as
fully developed Bodhisattvas, but with a languid air of newly awakened
consciousness. Two others, faintly visible in the foreground, are
represented as naked infants just springing to life or still curled up
in sleep. A rock on the left at the bottom edge of the lake is occupied
by a crane; its pendant on the right, a peacock, falls outside the
reproduction in Plate II.
The bottom corners of the Paradise are filled by the twelve armed
Kings, the generals of Bhaiṣajyaguru, who act as protectors of the Law.
They kneel six a side upon small terraces with gangways sloping down
into the lake. They are treated in appearance and dress like Lokapālas,
but carry no distinctive weapons. Their hands are joined in adoration
or else hold sacred vessels, jewels, &c.
Turning to the sides of the picture, we see the main terrace flanked
by two-storied pavilions, both of distinctively Chinese architecture,
and close by them trees carrying rich foliage but no flowers. The
upper chambers of the pavilions are open and show small Bodhisattvas
sitting on railings, pulling up reed-blinds or otherwise enjoying their
leisured life. The lower chambers contain only unoccupied lotus seats
and appear to have just been abandoned by two subsidiary Buddhas, who
are represented as advancing, each with two attendant Bodhisattvas, on
to projecting wings of the main terrace. The dress of the subsidiary
Buddhas is exactly that of the presiding Bhaiṣajyaguru, of whom M.
Petrucci takes them to be repetitions, and the expression of their
faces is similarly mild and pensive.
The marginal scenes, of which Plate I shows the better preserved ones
on the right side, have been identified by M. Petrucci as representing
incidents of the legend of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s last incarnation as a
Bodhisattva. Without reference to the text of the Chinese Tripiṭaka
which records this legend, but of which the translation prepared by
M. Petrucci is not at present accessible, no interpretation of the
different scenes can be attempted here. Judging from the inscribed
cartouches, at least five scenes are represented in the predella
portion actually reproduced in our Plate. That the treatment of the
figures, the dresses, the landscape is in purely Chinese style is
an observation uniformly applying to all side scenes to be found in
‘Maṇḍala’ pictures from the ‘Thousand Buddhas’, as well as to the
banners representing episodes from Gautama Buddha’s life-story (see
Pls. XII, XIII, XXXVII). Mr. Binyon in his Introductory Essay (see
above, p. 7) has discussed different possible explanations of the
striking assertion of Chinese style and feeling in these scenes. Here
it may suffice to draw attention to the skill with which the rapid
movement of the animal figures appearing in our scenes is rendered,
and to the clever use, observed elsewhere also, which is made of hill
ranges and similar landscape features for dividing the several scenes
into clearly marked compartments without sacrificing the effect of the
whole as a connected story.
A combination of special qualities renders this painting of
Bhaiṣajyaguru’s Paradise one of the most impressive pictures in the
Collection and proves it to be from the hand of a master. As Mr. Binyon
happily puts it, we see in it ‘delicate expressiveness of drawing
combined with a glowing animation of varied colour.... The artist has
been able to control his complex material and multitude of forms into
a wonderful harmony, without any restlessness or confusion; and we are
taken into an atmosphere of strange peace which yet seems filled with
buoyant motion and floating strains of music.’
PLATE III
A CELESTIAL ASSEMBLAGE
The observations just quoted apply with equal force to the large
painting on silk (Ch. xxxvii. 004), of which Plate III reproduces a
little more than the left-hand half on the scale of about one-half. The
painting itself, which though incomplete on all sides still measures
close on six feet across by five feet in height, represents but the
upper portion of a much larger composition. Judging from what survives
of the central figure in the lower broken part (see _Serindia_,
Pl. LIX), the picture as a whole was meant for a ‘Maṇḍala’ of the
thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara, the Kuan-yin of Chinese Buddhism. But
the heavy band of rhomboidal ornament which, as seen near the lower
edge of the Plate, passes behind the halo of this large central figure
clearly marks off the divine assemblage in the upper portion from the
rest as a well-defined theme by itself.
The Buddha presiding over this assemblage, whose seated figure our
Plate shows in its upper right corner, is taken by M. Petrucci for
Bhaiṣajyaguru, and the similarity in pose and accessories to the
central Buddha of the previously discussed picture seems to support
this identification. Unfortunately the inscription in Chinese and
Tibetan which occupies the large yellow cartouche in the centre and
might have afforded safe guidance has faded into illegibility. On
either side of this central Buddha is seen a Bodhisattva, seated with
one leg pendent and with the hand nearest to the Buddha raised, like
the right of the latter himself, in the _vitarka-mudrā_, the gesture
of argument. In pose, dress, and treatment of features these two
seated Bodhisattvas bear a distinctly Indian air, and this would well
agree with the identification proposed for them by M. Petrucci, who on
the strength of inscriptional indications in a simplified Maṇḍala of
Bhaiṣajyaguru is prepared to recognize Samantabhadra in the Bodhisattva
to the left and his usual counterpart Mañjuśrī in the corresponding
seated Bodhisattva to the right.[1] Between the presiding Buddha and
the Bodhisattva on either side are grouped three lesser Bodhisattvas
in adoring poses and two haloed monkish disciples. The heads of the
latter, one young, the other old and emaciated, are drawn with much
expressive skill. The same is the case with the faces of most of the
Bodhisattvas, though the great difficulties which the painting offers
to photography do not allow the extreme delicacy of the drawing to be
fully appreciated in the reproduction.
While the grouping and treatment of the divine personalities so far
named follow well-established lines, a striking feature, met with
again only once among our ‘Maṇḍala’ paintings, is introduced by the
two processions which descend, carried on purple clouds, from either
side towards the centre of the picture. On the left our Plate shows
us the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra seated on a lotus which a white
elephant, his recognized _vāhana_, carries, as he advances accompanied
by Bodhisattvas and preceded by heavenly musicians to meet Mañjuśrī.
The latter Bodhisattva appears in the corresponding right-hand portion
of the picture seated on his lion and escorted by an exactly similar
_cortège_.
Apart from six figures of undetermined lesser Bodhisattvas, some of
whom carry sacred vessels, the _cortège_ of either comprises four
youthful musicians playing on clappers, pipe, flute, and mouth-organ.
In front of them marches a dark-coloured boy, undoubtedly meant for an
Indian, carrying a bronze vessel, while another strides by the side of
the chief Bodhisattva, leading his mount. The exaggerated dark colour
of these Indians is, like the misdrawing of the elephant’s head and
limbs, significant of the painter’s want of familiarity with things
Indian. In the background two of the Lokapālas, or Guardian-kings
of the Four Quarters, attend the train of each divinity. About the
fluttering canopy which rises above the head of each float gracefully
drawn Gandharvīs (Apsaras). From the side there sweeps down a bevy of
tiny Bodhisattva figures clustered within a wreath of purple cloud,
while above it a group of picturesque hills, drawn with true Chinese
feeling for landscape, fills the top corner.
Throughout the picture the workmanship is that of a master, and the
serene dignity of the composition as a whole is very happily blended
with tenderness of mood and harmonious subtlety of line and colour.
PLATES IV, V
PROCESSIONS OF MAÑJUŚRĪ AND SAMANTABHADRA
Closely allied in subject and treatment to the last described picture,
though not quite equal to it in quality of execution, are the two grand
fragments (Ch. xxxvii. 003, 005) partially illustrated by Plates IV
and V. These two large pieces of silk with curved tops once belonged
respectively to the right and left sides of one arch-shaped picture.
The centre portion, which is likely to have contained a seated Buddha,
is lost. But some idea of the size of the whole may be formed from
the fact that the surviving right side portion (Ch. xxxvii. 003, Pl.
IV) in its broken state still measures six and a half feet in height
with a width of about three and a half feet, while the dimensions of
the badly broken left side are even larger. The shape of the picture
suggests that it was originally intended to occupy the back of a
vaulted chapel recess or of the aisle of an antechapel.
The right portion reproduced in Plate IV (scale one-fourth of original)
shows us Mañjuśrī, mounted on his white lion, advancing towards the
centre, surrounded by a host of attendant Bodhisattvas, Lokapālas,
demons, and nymphs. His mount is led by an Indian attendant and
preceded by a pair of musicians. The whole procession is carried on a
purple cloud.
The figure of Mañjuśrī is seated in the same attitude as that of
Samantabhadra in Plate III, with one leg pendent, but with his right
hand held out palm uppermost. The features of his pale-complexioned
face with its peaceful expression are very delicately rendered. But
the Indian model from which they are derived is reflected still more
clearly in the richly draped garments of the Bodhisattva and the forms
of his abundant jewelled ornaments. They are plainly borrowed in all
details from Graeco-Buddhist art transplanted into Central Asia.
The elaborate halo of Mañjuśrī deserves mention for its harmonious
colouring and flame border.
By the side of the attendant Bodhisattvas, all showing peaceful
features, we note Lokapālas with their demon followers. Of the former
Virūḍhaka, Guardian-king of the South, is recognizable by his club.
The demons are characterized by grotesque features and colouring of
deep red. The attendant divinity seen walking in the lower right corner
awaits identification. He wears the dress of a Chinese dignitary
(high-waisted flowery under-robe and wide-sleeved jacket), while
coiffure and nimbus are those of a Bodhisattva. He carries a fan and
is attended by two nymphs; of the one on the right only the head
survives in the extant fragment. The leader of the lion has a skin of
chocolate-brown colour and coarse features, suggesting a negro type.
Of the figures of the musicians walking in front but little is
preserved on the right side of the picture. But the corresponding pair
on the left side, which Plate V reproduces on a scale of approximately
one-half of the original, has suffered less damage and allows us to
enjoy both the spirited design and the great delicacy of drawing in
these figures. They march with uplifted heads, playing on whistle-pipe
and mouth-organ. In the face of the flute-player on the left delighted
absorption in the music is admirably expressed, while the curving lines
of the body and the floating loose garments convey a sense of rhythmic
motion in complete harmony with the subject. Equally expressive is the
drawing in the face of the musician to the right, with its look of
intent concentration. The larger scale of reproduction allows us to
see here the method of shading used by the painter in the treatment
of the flesh. The delicate colouring of the faces is well set off by
the stronger but harmoniously blended tints of the large globe-shaped
tassel which appears between them, hanging from the harness of
Samantabhadra’s elephant. In the same way the strong black of their
hair and the dark brown of the Mahout’s figure, partially seen on the
left edge of Plate V, help to give strength to the colour scheme, in
which light greens and reds prevail.
PLATE VI
DETAILS FROM A PAINTING OF A BUDDHIST HEAVEN
Here we see the left-hand bottom portion of a Paradise picture
reproduced on the scale of two-thirds, but without the gay colours of
the original (Ch. liv. 004). This represents a Buddhist Heaven presided
over by a Buddha whom M. Petrucci takes to be Śākyamuni.[2] In certain
characteristic features of the main theme, as well as in the side
scenes, our painting agrees closely with the Paradise picture (Ch.
xxxviii. 004), of which Plate VII shows a complete reproduction. To
the latter, therefore, reference may be made as regards the general
arrangement of the celestial scene with its central Buddha flanked by
two principal Bodhisattvas, &c., and that of the marginal scenes, which
in both paintings tell the story of Kalyāṇaṃkara and Pāpaṃkara, as
contained in texts of the Chinese Tripiṭaka.
The portion of the painting actually shown in our Plate represents
at the top the attendant host of Bodhisattvas, seated or kneeling
by the side of the altar which occupies a central position on the
terrace. A projecting part of this terrace serves as platform for the
performance of the celestial dancer and carries at either front corner
the figure of a Garuḍa playing on a musical instrument, apparently
pipe and clappers. The whole of the terrace is clearly shown as of
wooden construction and as raised on sloping piles above the waters
of the lotus lake. An unusual feature is the grouping of the divine
musicians on two separate terraces in the bottom corners. They are six
on each side and play on harp, lute, syrinx and Chinese mouth-organ,
whistle-pipe, and clappers. Behind the musicians are trees with
pear-shaped leaves and groups of conventional pink and white flowers.
From the lake rise reborn souls in the shape of infants carried on
open lotuses. The face and gesture of the one seen on the left below
the railing of the main terrace admirably express the awakening
consciousness of the newly born soul.
Throughout the picture the workmanship is highly finished, and
the delicacy of the drawing, especially in the features of the
Bodhisattvas, deserves notice. The prevailing colours are, as usual,
shades of crimson and dull green; but these are enlivened by the white
of the flesh of all divine figures and the orange, pale blue, and
purple used on stoles and haloes.
The legendary scenes on the sides which M. Chavannes first identified
from the cartouches, here fortunately bearing Chinese inscriptions,[3]
display throughout purely Chinese style in the dress and attitudes
of figures, &c. The figure of the kneeling lady in the left bottom
compartment is the portrait of a donatrix and may claim special
interest. Her costume and coiffure agree closely with those of the
donatrices in two paintings bearing exact dates of the second half of
the ninth century A.D.,[4] while they show a marked difference from the
far more elaborate fashion displayed by the ladies who appear in our
numerous dated pictures of the tenth century. I have had occasion to
call attention elsewhere to the very helpful _indicia_ which changing
fashions in the dress and coiffure of donatrices, and to a lesser
extent in those of donor figures also, supply for the chronology of the
Ch‘ien-fo-tung pictures.[5]
PLATE VII
THE PARADISE OF ŚĀKYAMUNI
This painting (Ch. xxxviii. 004), reproduced here on the scale of
two-sevenths, is practically complete and in a very fair state of
preservation, still retaining its border of yellowish-green silk.
As already mentioned in the description of the preceding Plate, it
represents the Paradise of a Buddha in whom M. Petrucci recognizes
Śākyamuni, the historical Buddha.[6] The ordinance of the celestial
assemblage is simple, though showing some peculiar features. The
presiding Buddha, with legs interlocked and both hands in the
_vitarka-mudrā_, occupies a lotus seat in the centre and faces the
draped altar. By him we see seated two principal Bodhisattvas, alike
in appearance and dress but with hands in different poses. According
to M. Petrucci’s view based on the inscriptions of a much-reduced
presentation of the same Paradise (Ch. xxxiii. 001), we may identify
the Bodhisattva on the left with Ākāśagarbha and the one on the
right with Kṣitigarbha. Between them and the Buddha is shown on each
side a small shaven disciple, of childlike appearance with hands
in adoration. Above the heads of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas are seen
canopies carried by pairs of trees and encircled by big flowers, and
behind them appears the pavilion with boldly upturned eaves which
represents the celestial mansion, the habitation of blessed souls. In
the air above and carried on clouds float the small figures of four
Buddhas amidst a sprinkling of orange flowers.
On the main terrace in front of the triad we see a dancer performing
in spirited movement. Its rhythmic rapidity is happily conveyed by
the graceful scroll-lines of the scarf she waves freely in her hands.
On either side four Bodhisattvas occupy lotus seats with hands folded
in adoration. Pairs of musicians sit in front of them, playing on a
reed-organ, lute, psaltery, and clappers. Gangways lead down from the
terrace to the lotus lake. Its bottom corners are occupied by Garuḍa
figures, half human half bird, standing on rocks and displaying plumy
semi-floral tails, with hands folded in adoration.
Most of the foreground is filled by a large isolated terrace carrying
in the centre a subsidiary Buddha, an arrangement which is peculiar. On
his right is seated a small Bodhisattva adoring, while to his left the
corresponding place is taken by a haloed disciple with shaven head and
hands in the same pose. He wears monkish robes with the addition of a
necklace, and thus presents the appearance peculiar in our paintings to
Kṣitigarbha, as seen in Plates XXV, XXXIX, XL. This distinctly supports
the view of M. Petrucci, who takes the group below for a repetition of
the principal triad and accordingly identifies the Bodhisattva to the
left with Ākāśagarbha and the Buddha with Śākyamuni. The appearance
of the Buddha is very unusual; for the crimson robe lined with white,
which covers him closely to the neck, shows the red disc of the Sun
painted on the left shoulder, the white disc of the Moon (with the tree
of immortality) on the right shoulder, and Mount Meru on the front of
the body, flanked by a man’s figure on either side.[7]
The marginal scenes of the painting, eleven in all, are taken, as
mentioned above, from the legend of Kalyāṇaṃkara and Pāpaṃkara. Their
detailed interpretations were to have been furnished in the volume
which M. Chavannes was preparing on a selection of our paintings for
publication in the _Mémoires concernant l’Asie orientale_ with the help
of materials left behind by M. Petrucci.[8] In the absence of such
guidance it must suffice here to point out the purely Chinese style
of all details in these scenes, including the curving hill ranges and
pine-clad cliffs which serve to separate them.
A broad band resembling a tessellated pavement divides the main picture
and side scenes from a panel below, which shows the donors kneeling on
either side of what was the space left for a dedicatory inscription
completely effaced or, perhaps, never written. On the right kneels a
row of six men wearing loose belted coats of different colours, while
on the left we see in front a bald-headed aged figure which may be
meant either for a monk or a nun; behind it a lady alone, and in the
third rank three others of more youthful appearance. Behind these again
are three boys with their hair done in round tufts above the temples.
Here, too, the costumes are of interest as affording indications as
to the approximate date of the painting. Among the men’s we may note
that, whereas three wear black hats with wide side-flaps such as are
found regularly on the heads of donors in our tenth-century pictures,
the other three wear the black lobed and tailed caps which are common
in the side scenes and the banners representing legendary incidents of
Gautama Buddha’s life (see Pls. XII, XIII, XXXVII). Of the costumes in
these representations I have, as I believe, shown that they go back
to a period distinctly earlier than the bulk of our pictures from the
‘Thousand Buddhas’.[9] The chronological observation regarding our
painting (Ch. xxxviii. 004) is borne out still more clearly by the
fashion which the donatrices display. The elaborate head-dress worn
by the ladies in all tenth-century pictures is conspicuously absent,
and the hair is done plain in a flat round topknot or in a large
backward-waving crest just as in the donatrix figures of the picture
dated A.D. 864 and reproduced in Plate XVI.
Good and refined as the drawing is, especially in the faces and hands
of Bodhisattvas and donatrices, we meet elsewhere with details which
have not been highly finished. As in other paintings of this class, the
prevailing colour is crimson on dull light green, with orange on the
Bodhisattvas’ robes and the tiles of the terrace, turquoise blue on the
altar-cloth, &c.
PLATE VIII
AMITĀBHA’S PARADISE
The painting (Ch. lviii. 0011), which this Plate reproduces on the
scale of two-fifths, is a good specimen of a fairly numerous group of
pictures which represent Amitābha’s ‘Western Paradise’, or _Sukhāvatī_,
as it is named in Sanskrit. It has lost the side scenes and its extreme
top and bottom, but is otherwise well preserved. Though not as large as
some representations of this, the most popular of Buddhist Heavens, nor
quite as sumptuous in its pageantry, our painting yet well illustrates
all the typical features of the series. The uniformity with which
the general scheme is observed in these Sukhāvatī pictures of our
Collection, more than a dozen in all, points to prolonged evolution
before even the oldest of them was painted.
On the principal terrace we see the presiding Buddha, Amitābha, seated
with his hand raised in the _vitarha-mudrā_. The Bodhisattvas seated
on both sides, Avalokiteśvara to the right and Mahāsthāma to the left,
make up the triad typical of Amitābha’s Paradise as determined by
inscribed representations and familiar from an early period also to
Buddhism in Japan. Between them and in front, by the side of the altar,
appears seated a host of lesser Bodhisattvas. The altar carries vessels
with offerings and is draped with a valance decorated with triangular
tabs and streamers; it is of interest as exactly corresponding to the
large silk valances I recovered from the walled-up chapel.[10] In the
background above, partly screened by the elaborate canopies of the
triad, are seen the celestial mansions in the shape of pavilions and
towers of purely Chinese style.
A portion of the terrace projecting in front of the altar is occupied
by a dancer and six musicians, to whose strains she performs. Here,
too, the dancer’s rhythmic movement is emphasized by the sinuous lines
of the stole which she waves in her hands and by bands fluttering
upwards from her head-dress. Mouth-organ, clappers, psaltery, flute,
and two differently shaped lutes are the musical instruments played
on. At the foot of the gangway descending to the water of the lotus
lake is shown a figure suggesting a seated Bodhisattva as seen from the
back. The lotus seat and the curling drapery of a stole are clearly
recognizable. The bent arms seem to support some offering, perhaps like
an Indian ‘Dālī’, as traces of red flowers and of leaves can be made
out in the original.
Lotus flowers and rocks appear rising above the water. In the centre
of the foreground is a black-tiled platform, on which are assembled a
Garuḍa, peacock, crane, and some smaller bird resembling a duck but
partly effaced. On either side of this platform there rises from the
water a terrace bearing a subsidiary representation of Amitābha’s
triad. The pose of the Buddha is the same as in the main group above,
but both the Bodhisattvas by his side are here shown with hands joined
in adoration. This repetition of the divine triad in the bottom
corners is very frequent in the pictures of Amitābha’s Paradise. The
representation of a newly born soul seated on a lotus and floating
up the gangway which leads to each of these subsidiary groups is a
pleasing addition to this conventional arrangement.
The workmanship of the painting is throughout careful and well
finished. From a background of dull green crimson, orange-yellow and
white stand out as the prevailing colours. The last is largely used on
the decorated haloes and ‘Padmāsanas’, or lotus seats, as well as for
the flesh of all attendant figures. The absence of black and blue is
marked in the general colour scheme.
PLATE IX
LEGENDARY SCENES FROM A PAINTING OF MAITREYA’S PARADISE
The scenes reproduced here, on half the scale of the original, are
taken from the top and bottom portions of a large and well-preserved
silk painting (Ch. lviii. 001) of Maitreya’s Paradise. For a
reproduction of the whole picture and for its special points of
iconographic interest, as the only representation in our Collection of
that famous Tuṣita Heaven in which the future Buddha of the present
world period is supposed to reside, a reference to _Serindia_ must
suffice here.[11] The Chinese inscriptions which render the attribution
of this Paradise to Maitreya certain (even though the Bodhisattva
appears in it as a Buddha, a status which he is yet to attain) are
taken from the text of the _Maitreya-vyākaraṇa-sūtra_ and accompany
legendary scenes shown in the top corners and along the bottom of
the painting. These scenes, as seen in our Plate, are not formally
separated from the Paradise proper, but merge into it at the bottom and
are above only divided from it by a range of pine-clad mountains.
The inscriptions and the legendary scenes to which they refer were to
have been interpreted in MM. Petrucci and Chavannes’ separate volume in
the _Mémoires concernant l’Asie orientale_.[12] The materials prepared
for it by those lamented collaborators are not at present accessible
to me, and in the absence of textual guidance the descriptive notes
on the scenes must here be brief. In the scene above on the right we
see three men in Chinese magisterial costume seated along a table on
a terrace, while before them two men stand right and left of a large
disc, provided with a tripod (?) and suggesting a metal mirror into
which a third smaller figure appears to gaze. To the left, between two
inscribed cartouches, are shown three men seated behind a table, the
centre one being on a lotus seat. Their head-dress is the same black
hat with broad flaps sticking out sideways which is worn by the three
seated figures to the right and which, as stated above, is always found
in the representations of donors on our tenth-century paintings.[13]
Still further to the left is depicted a husbandman in lobed and tailed
cap, driving a plough before which are harnessed a dark bull or cow and
a smaller whitish animal of the bovine species, apparently reluctant to
move on.
In the left corner scene we see a personage in official dress seated
on a small platform or throne before the gate of what seems to
represent a walled palace. To the left of him a demon-like figure is
shown striding, while on the right he is being approached by a group
comprising a Buddha and two smaller figures of monkish disciples. A
little to the right of this group stands a layman in adoring pose;
above the whole there appears a dragon-like monster descending on a
cloud. In the background to the right within the arched opening of
a reed hut is seen a pair, apparently man and wife, seated on a low
platform before which stands erect a lady wearing the wide-sleeved
dress and the elaborate coiffure familiar from the donatrices of our
tenth-century pictures.[14]
If the significance and interrelation of the top scenes at present
escapes us we have less difficulty about the general interpretation of
those at the bottom of the picture. On the right and left the scenes
placed below the flanking terraces of the Paradise manifestly show
conversions to the Buddhist Law. On the right is seen a personage
elaborately dressed and obviously of high rank, who is seated upright
on a square platform, with feet on a footstool, undergoing tonsure by
a monk. Four men in secular costume, holding rolls of paper in their
hands, stand behind him. Three others attend in front, one of them
holding a wide dish to receive the cut hair and a second carrying
a vase. In the background stands a groom holding three elaborately
caparisoned horses. Their figures are well drawn with elegant small
heads, broad shapely breasts, and slim legs. Two are white and one red.
Their type closely recalls the present Badakhshī breed of Western
Turkestān, a favourite region for China’s horse imports since early
times; it is exactly represented also among the numerous clay figures
of horses which in 1915 I excavated in plenty from Turfān graves of the
T‘ang period. The saddles, high-pommeled at back and front, and covered
with long saddle-cloths, are met with there also. For the ornamentation
of headstall, breast-band, and crupper, reference to a painted panel
from Dandān-oilik showing a horseman and also of the T‘ang period is
instructive.[15]
The scene on the left forms an exact pendant to the one just described.
Here a lady similarly placed and attired is having her head shaved by a
monk. Among the attendants behind her two ladies have their hair done
in topknots with two high loops, whereas two others, evidently girls,
wear it in a bunch on either side of the head with a short lock hanging
from each. Behind appear bearers of the hexagonal palanquin with pagoda
roof, of which a small portion is included in the reproduction.
The central scene shows the adorning of a Stūpa or Buddhist relic
tower and presents points of distinct antiquarian interest. Its
shape is cylindrical, with a low flat dome and a square base below.
A three-tiered umbrella, hung with streamers and metal ornaments,
surmounts it. Below workmen are seen engaged in arranging the
draperies. Two long tables are laden with flasks, bowls, and other
offerings, while bundles of manuscript rolls are placed at either side;
they are all likely to represent votive gifts made at the time of
consecration.
PLATE X
AMITĀBHA WITH ATTENDANTS
The painting (Ch. liii. 001) which this Plate successfully reproduces
in colours, on the scale of three-eighths of the original, is a good
representative of the small but interesting class of what may be
designated as simplified Paradise pictures. We see in it Amitābha
enthroned on a lotus between Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāma, with two
lesser Bodhisattvas in front and a row of well-individualized disciples
behind. No lake is represented; but a comparison with the painting
represented in the next Plate, XI, with which ours shares a number of
marked peculiarities in composition, style, colour, and treatment,
suffices to show that a representation of Amitābha’s Heaven is intended.
Amitābha is seated with legs interlocked and his right hand raised in
the usual _vitarka-mudrā_. His flesh is yellow shaded with red which
has changed to a curious iridescent mauve; his hair a bright blue. His
mantle, vivid crimson, is wrapped round both shoulders, its drapery
reproducing all details of the arrangement which Graeco-Buddhist
sculpture had borrowed from Hellenistic art and handed over to be
stereotyped with hieratic convention in the Buddha figures of Central
Asia and the Far East. The lotus, his seat, is raised on a high stepped
pedestal and has its pink petals covered all over with beautiful floral
scrolls in white, blue, and black. Similar rich scroll-work adorns the
base of the pedestal and reappears on the canopy which hangs above
the Buddha’s head, raised on two trees. Their stems are treated like
jewelled poles, and their large star-shaped leaves are arranged in
whorls enclosing conical clusters of red fruit. An Apsaras sweeps
down on either side, scattering flowers; her floating garments and
the gracefully curling clouds which support her express rapidity of
movement.
Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāma occupy well-designed, if less
ornate, lotus seats, the former raising a flaming jewel in his left
hand and the latter an alms-bowl. Among the multicoloured jewellery
with which they are bedecked, the Dhyāni-buddha set in front of the
tiara may be mentioned. Below them are seated two lesser Bodhisattvas,
in similarly rich dress and adornment, the one, in profile, holding
a red lotus, the other, in three-quarters profile, a flask. Their
foreshortened elliptical haloes in green and the transparent light blue
stoles deserve notice.
A particularly interesting element is introduced into the celestial
company by the six disciples ranged behind the triad, three a side
in ascending tier. They all have the shaven heads of monks and plump
solid features; but their alert faces are well individualized and the
expression markedly varies, from the jovial smile of the second figure
on the right to the serious and even severe look of the last on the
left. It is specially regrettable here that, as in so many of our
paintings, the cartouches above the different divine figures have not
been filled in. The red lotus bud carried by the last disciple on the
left and the priest’s staff in the hand of the corresponding figure on
the right do not help to identify them, nor do the crossbars on their
mantles. The haloes of all these figures, including those of the triad,
are only outlined in narrow rings of red and white, the interior being
shown as practically transparent—not a usual treatment.
Below Amitābha’s lotus seat, and partly covering the front of its
pedestal, is the panel for the dedicatory inscription, in the form of
a stone slab with a low arched top, carried on the back of a tortoise.
Unfortunately the dedication was never inscribed, and we are thus
left without means for exactly dating this interesting picture. But
very valuable help in this direction is afforded by what remains of
the figures of the donors in the bottom corners. That of the man on
the right is lost, except for the top of his cap. But that of the
wife kneeling on the left is complete and a figure of great charm. It
is manifestly a portrait, painted with considerable skill, and was
deservedly chosen by M. Petrucci for full-size reproduction in the
Vignette of the present publication.
The lady kneels on a mat, her hands holding a long-stemmed red flower.
The pose and face admirably express pious devotion. The delicate
treatment of the features distinctly recalls that of female heads in
a silk painting, unfortunately very fragmentary, which I recovered in
1915 from a seventh-century Chinese tomb at Turfān. The lady’s costume,
with its pleated skirt high under the arms, small bodice with long
narrow sleeves, and little crossover shawl, as well as her hair plainly
done in a small knot on the neck, represent a fashion distinctly older
than that to be seen in the donatrices’ figures of our earliest dated
picture (see Pl. XVI) of A.D. 864. We find the same indications of
an early date in the dresses and coiffures worn by the donors and
donatrices in the silk painting Ch. xlvii. 001 (Pl. XI), which shares
many peculiarities of our picture, and also in the undoubtedly ancient
embroidery picture shown in Plates XXXIV, XXXV.[16]
This chronological observation lends special interest to a notable
point of technique, the use of ‘high lights’ to bring out the modelling
of the flesh, in addition to ordinary colour shading. This is very
conspicuous in the faces of the monkish disciples, and equally striking
also in most of the figures in Plate XI, but it cannot be traced
elsewhere among our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings. The western origin of
this system of modelling has been duly emphasized by Mr. Binyon.[17]
PLATE XI
A PARADISE OF AMITĀBHA
In this large and on the whole fairly preserved silk painting (Ch.
xlvii. 001), reproduced on the scale of one-fourth, we have a Sukhāvatī
scheme fully developed on lines which, while closely resembling those
of the picture last discussed, differ from those of the usual Buddhist
Paradise type. It shows us Amitābha and his two chief Bodhisattvas
seated on lotus thrones rising from the Sukhāvatī lake, and on the
terrace forming the foreground various celestial beings characteristic
of Paradise scenes.
Amitābha, closely draped, raises his right hand in the _vitarka-mudrā_,
while his left, mostly destroyed, is held against the breast. His
flesh is yellow, as usual, his hair grey with outlines and close curls
indicated in black as if copied from statuary. On either side of him is
an elaborately decorated pillar with a flaming jewel at the top. Two
trees with leaves as already described in Plate X rise behind him and
support a canopy ornamented with rich floral scrolls. Two Apsaras sweep
down on either side of it, just as seen in Plate X and the embroidery
picture, Plate XXXIV.
Similar trees carrying many-tiered canopies rise over Avalokiteśvara
seated on the left and Mahāsthāma on the right. Two attendant
Bodhisattvas, in equally rich attire as theirs, stand by their sides
with hands in varying poses. The flower-spotted materials of the
Bodhisattvas’ robes and the graceful figure of the attendant to
Avalokiteśvara’s right may be noted. At the back of the triad a wall
of many-coloured marble blocks bounds the lake. In the air above
descend Buddhas seated on clouds; cleverly drawn figures of naked
infants, representing reborn souls, float with outspread stoles, while
beribboned musical instruments symbolize harmonies pervading space.
On the lake swim ducks, emblems of happiness, and oval lotus buds rise
enveloping infant souls. Inscriptions beside the lotuses describe
the rank taken by the soul in its new life. There is no altar before
the Buddha, as in other Paradise scenes, no dancer or musicians, no
celestial mansions. But a sacred vessel is borne on a lotus from the
water before Amitābha and small Bodhisattvas kneel on either side. In
front of them again, on a wooden platform, are grouped a two-headed
Garuḍa, a phoenix, duck, crane, and peacock.
On the terrace which fills the whole foreground are seated Bodhisattvas
four a side and well spaced. By the rail in front are two half-naked
infants, no doubt newly born souls, one advancing slowly, the other
dancing or running. Both hold flowers or berries and have, like the
infants in the sky, their heads shaved except for a two-lobed tuft of
hair over the forehead and one over each ear.[18] Between them and the
Bodhisattvas are shown large flaming jewels on lotuses.
In the middle by the side of a slab, arched at the top and intended for
a dedicatory inscription but left blank, are shown the small figures of
the donors. On the right kneel two men with long belted coats and small
lobed and tailed caps. Their attire bears close resemblance to the
quasi-archaic dress in the Jātaka scenes as presented by our banners,
and also to that in certain relievos of the early Buddhist cave shrines
of Yün-kang and Lung-mên.[19] The costume and coiffure of the lady
kneeling on the left agree exactly with those of the donatrix seen in
the preceding Plate and the Vignette. As regards the chronological
evidence which these details of attire afford, I may refer to my
remarks on that Plate.[20]
With the picture reproduced in Plate X our painting shares also a
number of other characteristic peculiarities, such as the use of ‘high
lights’ for the modelling of the flesh; the unobtrusiveness of the
haloes, which are transparent and often shown only in outlines; the
flower patterns spotting the materials of the robes, &c. On the other
hand, striking differences of composition, such as the total absence
of the celestial mansions in the background and the ample spacing of
the figures, make it clear that we have here preserved a specimen of
a Sukhāvatī scheme developed independently of the orthodox type which
prevails among our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings, whether on silk or mural,
and which has become stereotyped in Japan.
There is a general absence of vivid colours in our picture. Dull green,
with grey and black for the tiled terrace in front, prevails in the
background, and dull green, light pink or red, and greenish grey in
the colouring of figures and accessories. This quiet and coolness of
colouring and a certain emptiness of the background give an effect of
air and space which such crowded compositions as the Paradise seen in
Plates I, II lack. The drawing is free and rapid but rather rough in
detail.
PLATE XII
SCENES FROM GAUTAMA BUDDHA’S LIFE
This and the following Plate, together with Plate XXXVII, illustrate
a group of paintings well represented among the silk banners of the
Collection and of special iconographic and artistic interest. Painted
like the rest of the silk banners on both sides of a fine gauze-like
fabric, they show scenes taken from the legendary life of Gautama
Buddha or closely connected with it. The usual length of the banners
(exclusive of the triangular top and other accessories) does not appear
to have much exceeded twenty-five inches, and their width, as seen from
the specimens which Plate XII reproduces full size, is restricted. As
a necessary result of the narrow shape of the banners, we find the
succession of scenes always arranged one above the other and in the
completely preserved ones limited to four.[21]
This group of paintings is as well defined in style as it is in
range of subjects and external arrangement. Everything in the scenes
connected with the physical types of the actors, their costumes and
movements, as well as the setting, whether architecture or landscape,
appears here ‘translated bodily into Chinese’, to use Mr. Binyon’s
graphic phrase. The traditional subjects of the historical Buddha’s
life-story have in fact, as M. Foucher has with equal pregnancy put
it, ‘undergone the same disguising transformation which Christian
legend has under the hands of the Italian or Flemish painters’.[22]
It contrasts strikingly with this, that the figures of Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas, in our banners and large paintings alike, show close
conformity in physical appearance and dress to the hieratic types
derived from the Graeco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra. For possible
explanations of the very interesting problem thus raised reference to
Mr. Binyon’s ‘Introductory Essay’ will suffice here.
Notwithstanding their frankly Chinese style, the banners with scenes
from Gautama Buddha’s Life show considerable diversity of composition
and treatment. We note these variations all the more easily because the
banners range themselves into small groups, one alone not affording
sufficient room for a representation of even the most important
incidents of the Life. Two banners of such a group, each with only two
scenes preserved out of the four which the original, no doubt, once
comprised, are shown in Plate XII on the left and right. Both banners
have the same decorated borders along the sides and between the several
scenes, and both have cartouches, here fortunately filled with Chinese
inscriptions naming the subjects represented.
The banner on the left (Ch. lv. 0016) shows us two of the famous ‘Four
Encounters’ which bring before Prince Gautama’s eyes the three evils
of earthly life—old age, illness, and death, and the means to escape
them by renunciation. We find them all represented already in the
fifth-century relievos of Yün-kang, while strangely enough they have
not yet been found among the Gandhāra sculptures.[23] Above we see
the prince riding out of the green-tiled gateway of the battlemented
courtyard wall of his father’s palace. Over it is shown a pavilion with
red timber framework and greenish-blue roof. The red-maned well-drawn
horse represents the Kaṇṭhaka of the legend. A courtier in flowing
robes with a high black cap attends him on foot. Before him under a
tree is shown the bent figure of the old man leaning upon a stick and
wearing on his head a black hood. Another man, who stands by his side
and evidently supports him, has the black lobed and tailed cap to which
reference has been made above as the head-dress worn by the donors of
our oldest Tun-huang paintings. It is that of all common personages in
our Jātaka scenes. The high conical head-dress of the courtier is found
also in the above-quoted relievo panels of Yün-kang.[24] Prince Gautama
himself in the scenes of both our banners here wears a head-ornament
resembling a white lotus.
In the scene below we see the prince riding with bent head from the
same palace gateway. Here it is shown on the right, and its interior
timber frame clearly displayed. The courtier by his side, attired
as above, approaches with compassionate expression the group on the
left. Here under a tree is seen sitting upon the ground the sick man,
supported by a friend in a red dress, while another in green offers him
drink in a bowl. The emaciation of his body and of his arms spread upon
his knees is shown with realistic skill.
In the companion banner on the right (Ch. xlix. 006) the lower scene,
composed in exactly the same style, represents Prince Gautama as a
child discoursing on his anterior lives to civil and military officers,
as the accompanying inscription tells us. The future Buddha sits on a
verandah of the palace, holding out his arms evidently in the act of
reciting his Jātaka tales. In front of him kneels a man, in black cap
and orange belted coat, holding a manuscript roll. On the ground below
stands a bearded personage wearing the dress of a civilian dignitary;
he also carries a roll in his hands, which are covered by the wide
sleeves of his robe. Two persons stand behind the prince outside the
verandah. One in the dress of an attendant carries in his arms a round
receptacle filled with small objects no longer recognizable. The other,
wearing a tall round black cap, a brown mantle, and white under-robe,
grasps with his right hand what from the gesture seems to be the hilt
of a sword, and may hence be taken as representing the military element
in the royal entourage.
The seated figure of Buddha seen in the upper panel illustrates what
has been said above about the close adherence to the models derived
from Gandhāra art in the delineation of divine figures which stand
outside Gautama’s life-story before his attainment of Buddhahood. This
representation of the Buddha in our banner reflects Indian hieratic
tradition in every detail. He is shown seated on a large scarlet
lotus, with the left hand raised in the attitude of ‘protection’
(_abhaya-mudrā_).[25] A crimson under-robe, with light blue lining,
covers legs and right shoulder, while a brown mantle lined with light
green is thrown over the bare left. The finely drawn face, with arched
black brows and level eyes, shows no trace of Chinese influence.
Throughout the drawing is firm and clear in the smallest details and
the workmanship very delicate.
The banner reproduced in the middle (Ch. 0071) has survived only in
badly broken fragments, but even thus claims attention for several
qualities. Though of the topmost scene little else remains but the
figure of the seated Prince Gautama, it can, on the strength of other
closely corresponding scenes, be safely recognized as representing
the farewell in the forest from his horse Kaṇṭhaka and its groom
Chandaka,[26] after the prince’s flight from his father’s palace. Lower
down we are shown in an excellently composed scene the pursuit of the
mounted messengers sent by his father Śuddhodana to search after him
in the forest. The group of five horsemen with heads turned towards
each other as if baffled as to the track to follow are plunging behind
a forested hill to the left. The drawing of men and horses is very
spirited and the movement of both vividly expressed.
In the bottom scene we may recognize with some probability a
representation of the First Sermon in the Deer Park of Benares.
Śākyamuni, in Buddha robes, with halo and vesica and gilded flesh,
is seated on a lotus upon a chased throne. Over him hangs a draped
canopy supported by a pair of red-flowering star-leaved trees just as
Paradise pictures show them. Of three monks standing behind the throne
the shaven heads are visible. In front kneel the audience—three men
with high topknots and gay party-coloured jackets and long under-robes.
With their faces raised towards the Enlightened One they seem to listen
intently to his teaching. Throughout the colouring is ornate and
carefully applied in illuminating style.
PLATE XIII
SCENES FROM THE BUDDHA LEGEND
The banner reproduced on the right (Ch. xx. 008) on a scale almost
full size belongs to a well-defined series of banners, all of the same
style and workmanship, illustrating scenes from the story of Gautama
Buddha.[27] The scenes are all simple in design and divided from each
other by low hill ranges. Their number in our banner is only three, as
shown also by the three cartouches, all left blank.
The top scene shows King Śuddhodana seated on the verandah of his
palace and giving instructions to the mounted messenger to be
dispatched in search of Prince Gautama after his flight from the
palace. The figure, short and squat, of the messenger is characteristic
of the whole series; that of the horse, compact and heavy in build,
suggests a type like that of the present Mongol pony. In the next scene
we see the messenger engaged on his quest, carrying a red pennon and
galloping to the left. The rapid movement of the horse, here bay with
red spots and white mane and tail, is effectively rendered.
The scene below represents the messenger returning and reporting to the
king the futility of his search. Śuddhodana is seen as before seated
on the palace verandah while two musicians outside beguile him with
flute and pipe. Further down in the foreground are shown an enclosure,
containing a lotus tank and a bamboo tree, and outside its entrance a
small hexagonal structure with an oblong yellow object within. Higher
up kneels a white-coated man playing on clappers. The significance of
the objects in the foreground is not clear. The drawing, though rough,
shows vigour, and the general effect is bold and in the more active
scenes full of character.
On the left of this banner is reproduced, on half-scale, what
remains of the left-hand portion of an interesting but unfortunately
much-damaged large painting on silk (Ch. 0059). The colour of the
original is remarkably strong and the subject unusual. It represented,
when complete, the figure of Śākyamuni standing erect in the grotto
of the Vulture Peak (_Gṛdhrakūṭa_), famous in the story of the Buddha,
and by his side Jātaka scenes of a type not met with elsewhere among
our paintings and so far unidentified. Though only the right shoulder
and arm of the Buddha figure survive, there can be no doubt about its
iconographic character. The rocks, dark blue and brown, which appear
piled behind and above, with the vulture perched on the top, would
render this quite certain.
The identification is fully confirmed by the pose of the Buddha. The
arm hanging stiffly downwards at full length and slightly away from
the body, with fingers also stretched straight down, is seen again in
the central Buddha of the great embroidery picture of Plate XXXIV and
in the figure undoubtedly representing Śākyamuni on Gṛdhrakūṭa, which
the painting shown in Plate XIV reproduces among other Indian statues
of Buddha. The representation in the embroidery picture is recalled
also by the deep yellow colour of the flesh in our painting as well as
by the shape and certain details in the canopy. The elongated vesica,
cobalt blue in its border, and the light green and vermilion nimbus are
both edged with flames and cloud scrolls in vermilion and dark blue.
More true to nature than the vulture on the top is the flight of wild
geese and ducks shown above.
A disciple with shaven head, probably Śāriputra, stands by the side of
Śākyamuni and turns towards him. He shows an unconventional type of
features drawn with much vigour. The head is long and high at the back,
with well-defined ‘corners’ there and over the forehead. The large
nose, bushy eyebrows, and long pointed chin give a strongly marked
character to the head. It is set off by a circular halo of brilliant
vermilion. The costume, too, is peculiar; it consists of an under-robe
of vermilion and light green, black shoes upturned at the toes, and a
large mantle of mottled dark green, blue, and red, which covers both
shoulders and arms.
The legendary scenes which appear on the side of the painting
are preserved in a very fragmentary condition and still await
interpretation. But that they are connected with a statue representing
Śākyamuni on the Vulture Peak seems clear. In the background of the
top scene there appears a statue of a Buddha in the same pose as the
central figure, with the right arm stretched down stiffly. To the left,
in front of a building (temple?), stands a shaven priest, pointing out
the statue with his raised arm to passers-by below. In the foreground
is seen a man in brown coat and top boots riding a mule with its legs
hidden behind hilly ground. Behind him a white elephant, with a load
of yellow objects, but rider or driver no longer visible, proceeds in
the same direction to the left. On that side appear the roughly drawn
figures of two men with black beards and shocks of black hair.
The next scene below is even more puzzling. In the middle are seen a
pair of colossal hands rising from the ground and enclosing a human
head in red. To the right four conical objects, suggesting tents and
striped horizontally, form a row; a large vermilion pennon is shown
above one of them. Behind them a man on a dark grey horse is seen
riding rapidly. His right arm is raised as if to strike, and two
mounted attendants follow him. The foreground to the left shows on a
green slope a row of unexplained leaf-shaped objects, and above this
two semi-naked figures incomplete.
Very curious is the bottom scene. The God of Thunder appears above on a
cloud within a ring of drums which he beats in violent movement. In the
centre, before a background of rocks, is shown a large Buddha statue
within a scaffolding of vermilion poles. That the statue represents
Śākyamuni on Gṛdhrakūṭa is made certain by the downstretched right arm
and also by the characteristic pose of the left hand, which gathers up
the drapery in an ‘ear’ at the breast, just as the figure in Plates XIV
and XXXIV shows it. On either side of the scaffolding is perched a man,
busy with his hands at the statue’s head and steadying himself with one
foot at its shoulder. At the back of a building on the left a man seems
to give instructions to the workers, while at the foot of the statue
there squats a small figure with arms and legs outspread like the
Thunder-god’s. The latter’s figure in fury is shown again by a small
detached fragment below.
For a conjectural explanation of the scaffolding, which might be
connected with some miraculous translation of a sacred statue,
reference to _Serindia_ must suffice here.[28] But whatever the legend
represented in our side scenes may prove to be, we cannot fail to note
the striking contrast between the stiff hieratic image and the life and
vigour in the rest of the picture.
PLATE XIV
IMAGES OF BUDDHAS AND BODHISATTVAS
The large but unfortunately poorly preserved silk painting (Ch.
xxii. 0023), of which this Plate reproduces remains of the left-side
portion, on the scale of one-third, presents exceptional iconographic
interest. It shows numerous Buddha and Bodhisattva images arranged
in separate compartments and drawn in an Indian style which is
unmistakably derived from the Graeco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra. As
first recognized by M. Petrucci from the few Chinese inscriptions
still legible in the cartouches,[29] the figures were intended to
reproduce sculptured images worshipped at various sacred sites of
India. Eleven of them appear in the portion of the painting as shown
by the Plate, and seven more are traceable partly above this portion
or in detached fragments.[30] In the case of six the characteristic
poses or attributes enable us at present to identify with certainty
the particular divinity which the original images were intended to
represent. For others definite clues have yet to be searched for.
The figure in the top corner on the left reproduces an image of Gautama
Bodhisattva, seated in the famous scene of Māra’s attack immediately
preceding the Illumination. This is shown by the characteristic
pose of the hand touching the rocky seat _bhūmisparśa-mudrā_ and by
the triple monster head forming a crown over the Bodhisattva’s head
and symbolizing the demon army of Māra. It was in that pose that
the miraculous image at the sacred site of Bōdh-Gayā, described at
length by the great Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang and still traceable
in numberless replicas, presented Śākyamuni at the moment of
Enlightenment. The identification of our figure with this far-famed
image is confirmed by the Chinese inscription placed against it which
describes it as a statue in the kingdom of Magadha. In the figure now
seen in the top right-hand corner we meet again with a Bodhisattva
seated in the _bhūmisparśa-mudrā_. His robe is like that of a Buddha
and red. Two white crescents are shown within the nimbus, which, like
the vesica, is flame-edged. Here, too, a fortunate chance has preserved
the accompanying inscription from effacement. According to M. Petrucci
it mentions as the original a silver image preserved in the kingdom of
Kapiśa, which corresponds to the region of the present Kābul.[31]
Iconographic indications define four more of the images represented.
The figure in the middle of the topmost row shows the statue of a
Buddha standing with the right hand raised in the pose of ‘Protection’
and surrounded by an elliptical vesica which is filled with rows of
small Buddhas standing in the same pose and visible from the breast
upwards. The whole agrees in all details, down to the folds of the
drapery, with two colossal stucco relievo statues excavated by me
in 1901 on the southern corner walls of the great Rawak Vihāra of
Khotan.[32] Of these and similar representations on a much smaller
scale in Gandhāra relievos M. Foucher has proved that they are meant
to exhibit Śākyamuni in the act of performing the Great Miracle of
Śrāvastī.[33] In another standing figure, the one on the right of the
middle row, the introduction of a pair of gazelles or deer into the
ogee top of the vesica proves that an image representing Śākyamuni in
the Deer Park of Benares, the scene of the First Sermon, is intended.
The richly adorned standing figure of a Bodhisattva in the bottom row,
holding the characteristic emblems of the lotus and flask, is certainly
an Avalokiteśvara, and the presence by his side of various small
attendant figures may yet help to the exact identification of the image
intended.
Special iconographic interest attaches to the standing Buddha figure
in the right-hand bottom corner of the Plate. Its hieratic pose of
peculiar stiffness, the treatment of the drapery and what remains of
the background of speckled rocks, leave no doubt as to the identity
of the figure with the image of Śākyamuni on the Vulture Peak, which
is represented in striking similarity also by the fine painting of
Plate XIII previously discussed and by the embroidery picture of Plate
XXXIV. The vulture shown in the former makes it quite certain that the
background of all three paintings represents the famous rocky hill near
Rājagṛha or Rājgir in Bihār, where ancient tradition localized various
episodes of Śākyamuni’s later life. There is no inscription to tell us
where the Indian image which all three representations were intended to
reproduce was assumed to be. But the absolute identity of the pose, and
the extraordinarily close resemblance of all details in the treatment
of drapery, hair, dress, &c., prove all three to be replicas from the
same model. That this was a sculpture in the Graeco-Buddhist style is
obvious at a glance.
The rigid adherence in details to a common original model which is
proved in this particular case supports confidence in the general
fidelity with which the other figures, too, in our painting may be
assumed to reproduce the original images represented. A close parallel
is furnished by the miniatures in certain Nepalese manuscripts of
the eleventh century which illustrate various sacred images and
shrines of Buddhist India. M. Foucher has conclusively proved that
their painters, in all that concerns essential points, have always been
at pains to reproduce faithfully the stereotyped models furnished by
long-continued traditional imagery.[34]
In what form our painter had received the types he thus conventionally
reproduced is uncertain. But the clearly preserved Graeco-Buddhist
style shows that they were indirectly derived from Gandhāra, and
early transmission through Central Asia is obviously most probable.
The question may be hazarded whether the votive object aimed at in
the painting and its assumed prototype was not that of securing the
religious merit which might have attached to an actual pilgrimage to
those distant sacred sites. The drawing in mere outlines with little
or scarcely any colour, similar to the technique of certain Khotanese
mural paintings, and the perished state of whole portions of the silk
seem to point to the painting being of early date.
PLATE XV
TWO FORMS OF AVALOKITEŚVARA
The predominant share which the Bodhisattvas claim in popular Buddhist
worship as developed under Mahāyāna influences is illustrated by the
fact that about one-half of our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings are devoted
to their representation, whether singly or along with attendant
divinities. However large may be in devout speculation the number
of different Bodhisattvas, popular imagination had already in the
North-Indian home of the Mahāyāna system been concentrated upon a
small select group of Bodhisattvas. Among them Avalokiteśvara, the
Bodhisattva of Mercy, occupies the foremost place, and the frequency
of his representations among our Tun-huang paintings is just as marked
as the popularity of his female manifestation, known to the Chinese as
Kuan-yin, to the Japanese as Kwannon, the Goddess of Pity, is in modern
Buddhist worship throughout the Far East.
The large and fairly well-preserved painting (Ch. xxxviii. 005),
reproduced on the scale of one-third in Plate XV, presents two almost
life-size figures of Avalokiteśvara standing erect and facing each
other. Their outer hands are raised in the _vitarka-mudrā_, while the
Bodhisattva on the left carries in the other hand a yellow flower, and
the one on the right a flask and a willow sprig. These are well-known
attributes of Avalokiteśvara.[35] Which of his many particular forms
are intended may be determined from the inscribed cartouche above, of
which no translation is as yet available.
The figures, drawn with much care and painted in a wealth of harmonious
colours, reflect a certain grandeur of design which breaks through the
hieratic conventions of pose and externals. Except for the oblique eyes
these conventions are all unmistakably Indian in type and origin. But
equally clear is the change, here seen in highly perfected technique,
which their treatment has undergone by the eyes and hands of Chinese
painters. We notice their distinctive touch quite as much in the grace
and dignity of the features as in the mastery of sweeping line with
which the rich robes of the Bodhisattvas are treated. The features are
finely drawn and delicately shaded with pink; the ears are elongated
and show hieratic convention in a particularly striking fashion. The
fine drawing of the shapely hands curiously contrasts with the clumsy
foreshortening of the feet.
Dress, coiffure, and jewellery are of the elaborate style, often
displayed by our Bodhisattva banners;[36] but the ornamentation, though
carefully treated in detail, is not overdone. On the front of the
tiaras is shown Avalokiteśvara’s Dhyāni-buddha, Amitābha. From lotus
buds at their sides descend rainbow-coloured tassels. The garments
comprise shawl-like stoles, lined with light green, under-robes of
Indian red, and long skirts of orange hue. A white girdle is held
round the hips by a jewelled belt; its end hangs down in front of
the skirt and is tied below in a butterfly knot. From a heavy gold
necklet descend jewelled chains, which are gathered together by a
large circular jewel at the waist, and then part again to loop up the
skirt about the knees. A jewelled anklet seems to gather the end of
the under-robe above the feet, and these in either figure are set upon
a pair of open lotuses. On the outer sides of the figures gracefully
drawn flowers and leaves are shown as if floating down gently through
the air.
PLATE XVI
FOUR FORMS OF AVALOKITEŚVARA
This well-preserved large silk painting (Ch. lv. 0023), reproduced
here on a scale of two-fifths, offers special interest.[37] It is
the oldest exactly dated painting in the Collection, the dedicatory
inscription below indicating the year corresponding to A.D. 864. It
also combines in a curious fashion hieratic conventions of Indian
origin, such as prevail in the row of four Avalokiteśvara figures
ranged stiffly side by side in the upper half, with the more Chinese
and more animate treatment of others in the lower half. There the
Bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī are represented in procession
advancing towards each other on lotus seats carried by their respective
‘Vāhanas’, the white elephant with six tusks and the lion, and
accompanied by their attendants, just as we have already seen them in
the more sumptuous compositions of Plates III and IV. Samantabhadra
has his hands raised in the _vitarka-mudrā_ and Mañjuśrī in the pose
of adoration. Their dress, ornaments, circular haloes, &c., as well
as their _cortèges_, here limited to two lesser Bodhisattvas carrying
three-tiered umbrellas and a dark-skinned Indian attendant leading
the divinity’s mount, all show very close agreement with the types
displayed in those large paintings. These conventions are shared also
by the single Bodhisattva figures in many fine silk banners of the
Collection,[38] and our dated picture proves them to have been already
fully established by the middle of the ninth century.
In contrast to these two Bodhisattvas, always easily identified,
only the short Chinese inscriptions by the side of the four
Avalokiteśvaras above can tell us which particular form of this most
popular Bodhisattva is to be recognized in each figure.[39] All are
practically alike in pose and dress except for some minor differences.
All carry a red or red and white lotus in one hand, and all, except the
Avalokiteśvara on the extreme left, a flask in the other. The dress
comprises a long reddish-pink under-robe girt round the waist and
reaching to the feet; a short tight upper skirt and a deep plastron
passing over breast and shoulders. On the upper arms are close-fitting
sleeves, half covered by armlets. Pink drapery hangs behind the
shoulders and a narrow stole of green and red passes round them; thence
it winds stiffly about the arms and ripples to the ground. The figure
of the Dhyāni-buddha Amitābha appears on the tiara.
In all the details just mentioned these Avalokiteśvaras attach
themselves to a class of Bodhisattva figures, largely represented
among our banners, which reproduce characteristic Indian conventions
in physical type, dress, pose, and flesh colouring with sufficient
closeness to deserve the general designation of ‘Indian’.[40] Their
juxtaposition with the more ‘Chinese’ Bodhisattvas in the lower half of
our painting is instructive as helping to bring out the distinctions of
the two types.
In the narrow panel below we see ranged on either side of the
dedicatory inscription the donors and their ladies. The Chinese
inscriptions attached to them acquaint us with their persons.[41] On
the right kneels the father attired as a monk with his three sons
kneeling in secular dress behind him. On the left are shown two nuns,
members of the family, and behind them two ladies, wives of two of the
sons. To the interest presented by the costumes of the secular figures
I have had already occasion to allude.[42] The fashion represented in
the dress and coiffure of the two ladies is particularly instructive
as affording indications for the approximate dating of other paintings
which show donatrix figures. The moderate width of the sleeves and
the absence of ornaments in the head-dress distinguish this fashion
of A.D. 864 very strikingly from that presented by the donatrices in
tenth-century pictures. On the other hand, we see on the men’s heads
the wide-brimmed black hats of the latter side by side with a stiff
black cap of a manifestly earlier type.
PLATE XVII
AVALOKITEŚVARA IN GLORY
The large silk painting (Ch. lvi. 0019), reproduced in this Plate
on a scale of slightly less than one-fourth of the original, may
rank among the richest of the Collection in respect of decorative
effect and colouring, and fortunately has survived in very fair
preservation. It represents Avalokiteśvara in his thousand-armed
and eleven-headed form, surrounded by numerous groups of divinities
constituting his ‘Maṇḍala’. The scheme is repeated on somewhat simpler
lines in another fine painting, shown by Plate XLII. Elaborate as its
representation is in ours, its interpretation is facilitated by the
Chinese inscriptions attached to all the principal divine figures
which appear in attendance on the great Bodhisattva of Mercy. Helped
by these inscriptions M. Petrucci has been able to discuss at length
the numerous and interesting questions of iconographic detail which are
raised by figures in this and similar sumptuous compositions, and to
his explanations and to the full description contained in _Serindia_
reference may conveniently be made here.[43]
In the centre of the painting we see Avalokiteśvara’s large figure
surrounded by a nimbus-like disc. This is formed by his outer hands
making up the theoretical number of a thousand, and each showing an
open eye marked on the palm. Avalokiteśvara’s thousand arms, arranged
in this fashion, are well known, too, to the later Buddhist iconography
of India and meant to symbolize the merciful divinity’s desire to save
all human beings at the same time. The Bodhisattva is shown seated on a
lotus and under a richly tasselled canopy. His inner hands, apart from
the four in front, hold a multiplicity of well-known sacred emblems,
including the discs of the Sun and Moon, flasks of ambrosia, conch,
willow spray, trident, Vajra, the Wheel of the Law, mace, &c. From the
centre pair of inner hands a shaft of rainbow light streams upwards.
His flesh is yellow, as usual, shaded with pink; his hair blue, of the
same shade as the general background. Of the small subsidiary heads,
two of demonic appearance are shown by the side of the ears and the
rest in three tiers above the tiara.
Among the attendant divinities we see at the top of the canopy the
Bodhisattvas of the Sun and Moon seated behind their five white
geese and five white horses respectively. In the upper corners
appear on finely painted clouds the ‘Buddhas of the ten quarters of
the Universe’, arranged as all the attendant deities in symmetrical
groups. Below them are seated pairs of Bodhisattvas with elaborate
flower-decked haloes and nimbi. Beneath them come on the right Indra
with three attendants, and on the left Brahman with two. All are shown
kneeling and wearing Chinese official dress of a rich type. Beneath
again are shown two monstrous divinities, both unmistakably Śivaitic.
On the right Mahākāla with three heads and six arms reclines on
the back of Śiva’s bull. On the left Maheśvara, of demonic appearance,
stands with legs apart upon a crocodile-headed snake; his middle hands
grasp pike and cords which hold two half-naked humans.
Below the lotus seat of Avalokiteśvara are seen emaciated _pretas_ or
beings in hell clutching with outstretched hands at showers of white
grains (ambrosia) which Avalokiteśvara pours on them. In front of his
lotus seat lies a tank in which stand two stalwart Nāgas upholding
the stem of the lotus. They are in human shape, but carry above their
heads a crest formed of five snake-heads, their ancient Indian emblem.
Besides smaller Nāga figures of the same type the tank holds an infant
soul (now almost destroyed) rising from a lotus.
The bottom corners are occupied on each side by a larger group of
attendants. The central figure in each case is a four-armed female
divinity of beneficent aspect, dressed like a Bodhisattva and seated
on a bird. The one on the right rides on a phoenix and is followed
by a Buddha. The female deity behind him is of interest, as from the
children in her arms she may be recognized as the goddess Hāritī, whom
a pious Indian legend represents as a wicked ogress converted into a
patroness of children.[44] The female divinity on the left is riding
on a peacock, with two attendants behind her who in the absence of
attributes or inscriptions remain unidentified. Lower down on either
side are seen standing two Lokapālas, Kings of the Quarters, in armour,
and in each of the bottom corners a demonic Vajrapāṇi, six-armed and
serpent-decked, straddling against a background of flames. At the feet
of each sits a smaller demon with a boar’s head. Before the Lokapālas
and close to the edge of the tank are seated on the right an emaciated
old man in ascetic garb, and on the left a richly-robed nymph offering
flowers. Both these figures, described elsewhere as the ‘Sage of the
Air (?)’ and ‘Nymph of Virtue’, are with particular clearness seen
again in Plate XLII.
On the iconographic side the interest of this sumptuous presentation
of Avalokiteśvara’s ‘Maṇḍala’ is obvious, were it only for the
appearance in it of such Śivaitic deities as Mahākāla and Maheśvara.
These aptly illustrate the influence which Hindu mythology, even in
its later development, continued to exercise on the Buddhist Pantheon
of Central Asia and the Far East. On the artistic side attention is
claimed by the skill shown in the ordinance of the whole and the
drawing of individual figures. But it is in particular the highly
effective colour treatment which makes this picture rank with the most
impressive in the Collection.
PLATE XVIII
AVALOKITEŚVARA STANDING, WITH WILLOW SPRAY
It is to qualities very different from those of the preceding picture
that the figure of a standing Avalokiteśvara (Ch. 0091), reproduced
in Plate XVIII in half the size of the original, owes its special
charm. The silk painting has lost portions of its sides and the whole
below the knees of the figure, and the colouring throughout has much
faded. But the disappearance of paint helps to bring out more clearly
the excellence of the design and the very delicate drawing of figure
and features. With workmanship showing mastery of a fully established
technique in details, the painting combines an air of individual
feeling which makes its subject one of the finest single figures
amongst our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings.
Avalokiteśvara stands facing the spectator, with head erect but eyes
downcast. His pose, with the weight thrown on the right hip and the
body aslant to the left shoulder, is characteristically Indian. The
head is that of a young man and shows marked influence of Gandhāra art
in its features. The nose is long and straight, the brow high, and the
eyes only slightly oblique. The moderately arched eyebrows sweep in a
slightly recurved line to the outer edge of the brow. The thinner
cheeks and more natural proportion of the features give to the face a
distinct individuality which those of the conventional semi-feminine
Bodhisattvas lack. The expression is meditative and remote, the pose
graceful and dignified at the same time. The right hand is raised in
the _vitarka-mudrā_ at the breast with a willow spray between the thumb
and fingers; the left hanging by the side holds the flask and a twining
spray with pink flowers.
The attire and head-dress are of the conventional style associated with
the Bodhisattva type which has above been designated as ‘Chinese’. The
Dhyāni-buddha Amitābha is shown on the front of the tiara, which is a
simple circlet ornamented with flaming jewels and long tassels at the
ears. The hair done in double-leaf form appears above it. Instead of
the under-robe a light red scarf is thrown over the breast. A stole
of grey and olive green, much faded, clings to shoulders and upper
arms and is festooned across the front of the figure. From the waist
descends the skirt, apparently brown.
In the right lower corner appear two small figures kneeling and holding
lotus buds. They represent evidently donors, a boy and a girl. The way
in which their hair is dressed, the boy’s parted and tied in a double
bunch on either side of the head and the girl’s parted and tied behind,
is not usual in our paintings. The plain long-sleeved robes covering
the figures from neck to feet afford no clue to the dating.
PLATE XIX
TWO AVALOKITEŚVARAS WITH THE WILLOW SPRAY
The Bodhisattva of Mercy presents himself again, standing and without
attendants, in the two silk paintings which this Plate reproduces on
the scale of two-fifths of the originals. In both the portion of the
figure below the knees is lost. The painting on the left (Ch. xxii.
0030) shows a good example of the Bodhisattva type which above we have
referred to as ‘Chinese’, executed with much skill and refinement.
Avalokiteśvara, facing three-fourths to the right, raises the willow
spray in his right hand, while the left at the waist carries the flask.
The movement shown in the tassels of the canopy above the halo suggests
that the figure was intended as walking; it is drawn particularly soft
and full. The low forehead, full cheeks, small mouth and chin, and
oblique eyes under highly arched eyebrows are characteristic of the
type. The hair is black and descends in a love-lock by the ear. In
front of the tasselled tiara stands the Dhyāni-buddha Amitābha with the
right hand raised in the pose of ‘Protection’. Above the skirt, which
forms an overfall at the waist, is shown an under-robe rising only to
the breasts. A stole of fine dull blue forms the chief note of colour
in the picture. The jewellery is elaborate and plentifully studded with
pale pink stones. The cartouche to the right is filled with a Chinese
inscription containing a salutation to Kuan-yin.
In the other painting (Ch. lvi. 0016) Avalokiteśvara is shown facing
three-fourths to the left with both arms raised from the elbows. His
hands here, too, hold willow spray and flask, but in reversed order.
The upper portion of the head is lost; what remains of the features,
including the eyes fixed in a straight gaze to the front, shows
delicate drawing. The flesh is white shaded with pink. Over a crimson
under-robe and orange-red skirt descends in ample folds a stole of
olive green. To the usual heavy jewellery is added a small string of
beads round the neck. The workmanship is clean and sure.
PLATE XX
AVALOKITEŚVARA WITH FLAME-WREATHED HALO
The fine silk painting (Ch. xviii. 003) reproduced here on a scale of
a little over two-thirds of the original is a work of considerable
artistic merit and is without a pendant in the Collection. It shows
a standing Avalokiteśvara painted in a style which shows affinity to
the ‘Indian’ type of Bodhisattva figures previously mentioned but
has marked peculiarities of its own. The picture is complete, but
the bare upper part of the figure painted with dull red outlines and
comparatively faint pink colouring has unfortunately much faded, while
the more solid and brilliant colours of the dress and jewellery are
well preserved and in consequence now absorb a disproportionate share
of attention.
Avalokiteśvara stands facing the spectator with his feet planted on
the bright green centres of two open dark-pink lotuses. His face,
turned slightly towards the right shoulder with eyes downcast, bears an
expression of serious mildness, as if of comprehending pity. The hair
about the forehead is shown in pale blue, the eyebrows light green.
Eyelashes, pupils of eyes, and the dividing line of lips, being painted
in black, stand out distinctly among the otherwise faded features. Both
arms are raised at the elbow, the right holding the willow spray over
the shoulder, while the left carries on the open palm a short flask of
blue and pink. The dress consists mainly of brilliant scarlet sprinkled
with small blue trefoils and tied at the waist with a narrow blue
girdle. A green sash is also loosely knotted round the hips. A long
narrow stole of dark pink lined with green winds round the body from
the left shoulder and flutters about the arms. White draperies descend
from behind the head and shoulders.
The head-dress consists of a gilded circlet with a ball over the
forehead supporting the Dhyāni-buddha’s figure, and behind this of a
tall cylindrical piece in dark pink and green surmounted by what may
be meant for a topknot of hair but is now almost effaced. The rich
jewellery is set with stones of bright scarlet, blue, and copper green,
and hung with strings of pearls. A large greenish disc wreathed with
scarlet flames forms a nimbus. Open lotus flowers are seen floating
down in the air. The Chinese inscription in the left top corner
describes the painting as the gift of a son in memory of his father,
without recording the date of its dedication.
PLATE XXI
AVALOKITEŚVARA STANDING
The figure of Avalokiteśvara which this Plate shows us on the scale of
one-third of the original silk painting (Ch. liii. 005), well preserved
except for the extreme top and bottom, shares with the Bodhisattvas
of ‘Indian’ style characteristic features of physical type, pose, and
dress. But the air of grace and gentleness which the Chinese painter
has here infused into the formality of their conventions invests the
figure with a peculiar charm and raises it well above their average
level as a work of art.
We see Avalokiteśvara standing with the slender-waisted body inclined
from the left shoulder and its weight thrown on the right hip in
characteristic Indian pose. But the stiffness of this attitude, just
as that of certain traditionally fixed details in the dress, is
transformed by sweeping Chinese brush lines. The figure stands slightly
to the left, with the eyes gazing down and the hands holding the usual
attributes of the willow spray and the flask. The face is short and
round, the mouth slightly larger than usual, with a tiny moustache and
a tuft of beard indicated below by a small curl. The eyes are wide
apart and almost level, but with a finely recurved line added to
the eyelids. The flesh is white shaded with red.
Over a long orange skirt, draped in conventional folds, the Bodhisattva
wears a short and tight over-skirt of Indian red, sprinkled with blue
and white rosettes. Over it is festooned a narrow cord-like band
hanging in loops and streamers by the sides. The costume is completed
by an olive-green girdle, a red scarf across the breast, and a narrow
stole of dark chocolate colour descending from about the arms to
the feet. The richly jewelled ornaments agree in general type with
those seen on the four ‘Indian’ Bodhisattvas of Plate XVI, but the
Dhyāni-buddha is absent from the tiara. The slate-blue outer border of
the nimbus is ornamented with a ring of ‘enclosed palmettes’ in blue
and white, as often seen elsewhere in Bodhisattva haloes.
PLATE XXII
TWO AVALOKITEŚVARA PAINTINGS WITH DONORS
In both the silk paintings which this Plate reproduces on the scale of
three-sevenths, we see Avalokiteśvara represented in ‘Indian’ style and
beside or below him the donors. In the picture on the left (Ch. liv.
006) the figure of the standing Bodhisattva is treated on very formal
lines, typical of the ‘Indian’ style already repeatedly mentioned,
and the colouring in bright crude tints solidly laid on is equally
characteristic. Apart from the hieratic stiffness of the whole figure
and pose it will suffice to call attention to such peculiar features
as the narrow band descending from the head-dress to the knees and
festooned in front of the body, and the loose locks of hair which hang
over the shoulders. The hair is painted ultramarine, the flesh white
and shaded with vermilion. The eyebrows raised disproportionately high
over the almost straight eyes are, as often elsewhere, shown green.
Avalokiteśvara stands on a large scarlet and white lotus which floats
on a lake or stream. Behind him on green land is shown a row of tall
bamboos filling the background.
To the left of the Bodhisattva appears standing the figure of the nun
whom one of the Chinese inscriptions names as the donatrix, with a
date corresponding to A.D. 910.[45] She wears a wide-sleeved yellow
under-robe with flowered band across her breast and a purplish-brown
mantle. Her close-cropped hair is shown in ultramarine, and her hands
carry a censer. Opposite to her stands a boy offering a scarlet lotus
on a dish; he wears a long-skirted dark brown coat slit at the side
and showing wide white trousers underneath. M. Petrucci recognizes in
him the nun’s defunct younger brother, whom the dedicatory inscription
associates with her votive gift.
The picture on the right (Ch. xl. 008) is in perfect condition and
represents Avalokiteśvara, six-armed and seated, together with side
scenes and donors. His upper hands hold up discs emblematic of the
Sun and Moon, showing a three-legged bird and a tree respectively;
the middle hands are raised on either side of the breast in the
_vitarka-mudrā_, while the lower hands with rosary and flask rest on
the knees. In front of him is placed a small draped altar with flasks
and a covered dish. The Bodhisattva’s figure, within the limitations
imposed by the conventional treatment, is very carefully drawn and the
colouring well preserved and unusual. It consists mainly of terra-cotta
red on the garments (excepting the stole, which is very dark brownish
olive), and of white shaded with light pink on the flesh. A harsh
yellow is used for the jewellery, while the ground throughout is left
in the dark greenish-brown of the silk.
Down the sides are shown, in animated and expressive drawing of purely
Chinese style, scenes representing Calamities from which Avalokiteśvara
miraculously saves his worshippers.[46] On the right above we see a
man, naked except for a loin-cloth, threatened with having his head cut
off. Lower down two men are fleeing with their arms over their heads,
while a thunder-cloud in the sky, represented like a monstrous Nāga,
showers black drops on them. Below a man stands calmly in a pyramid of
flame into which another behind appears to have pushed him. On the left
above a man is being pushed by another over a precipice; but half-way
down he is seen again composedly seated on a cloud. The next scene
shows a man kneeling in an arched recess with his head in a _cangue_,
while in front of him are wooden instruments for fettering feet and
hands. At the bottom stands a man looking calm although surrounded by a
snake, scorpion, and an animal apparently meant for a tiger.
In the bottom portion of the painting are shown the donors, on either
side of a cartouche intended for a dedicatory inscription. Their
figures are drawn with much care and offer good examples of costumes
belonging to the tenth century. Of the men on the right the one in
front holds a censer and the other a lotus bud between his hands joined
in adoration. On the left kneels a lady in a wide big-sleeved robe; her
hair is held by a central framework and big pins, painted in pink and
white, but lacks the usual flowers and leaves. Behind her stands a boy
in long white trousers and a flowered pink and white tunic, with his
hair parted and ornamented on the top by a big bow.
PLATE XXIII
SIX-ARMED AVALOKITEŚVARA WITH ATTENDANT BODHISATTVAS
The large silk painting (Ch. xxvi. 001) of which this Plate is a
half-size reproduction was in its original condition a very fine
composition, but has suffered much damage. The lower end has been
destroyed by fire, the right edge is lost, and several large holes show
where dark green paint has corroded the silk. Much of the colouring is
gone; yet in spite of all these vicissitudes enough remains to prove
the refined design of the whole and the sureness of the drawing.
The picture shows a six-armed Avalokiteśvara seated on a large white
lotus in the attitude known as that of ‘royal ease’, with the right
knee raised and the head inclined over the right shoulder. This
characteristically ‘Indian’ pose corresponds to the slim-waisted body
and the dress of ‘Indian’ Bodhisattva type. It is only in figures of
the latter that we find the flower-ornamented caps over the knees here
seen. The upper hands with gracefully curved fingers are raised towards
the head; of the middle ones the right is raised before the breast in
the _vitarka-mudrā_, while the left is held below palm up; the lower
hands hang down below the knees. No emblems are displayed, except the
Dhyāni-buddha in the front of the tiara, which appears as a high solid
cone of chased bronze.
The ornamentation of the circular halo and nimbus is very elaborate and
effective. Vandyke and flower patterns fill the former, waving rays
the nimbus. One continuous flame border outlines the free edges of
both, while a broad band of white surrounds them and encloses the whole
figure in a circle of light. A string of small flowers seen in profile
defines the outer edge of this circle.
Above it is seen a canopy set with flaming jewels. On either side of
this appears a small Bodhisattva seated on a lotus which grows on a
twining stem. Two corresponding figures occupying the bottom corners
are all but destroyed.
In the colouring different shades of red and green prevailed, together
with white; but the last, as well as the yellow on Avalokiteśvara’s
flesh, has been rubbed off in most places.
PLATE XXIV
TWO PAPER PAINTINGS OF AVALOKITEŚVARA
The two pictures reproduced here both represent Avalokiteśvara and
are painted on paper; but their interest varies greatly in character.
The one on the right (Ch. i. 009, scale two-thirds of original) shows
the Bodhisattva sitting by the water on a bank under willows. This
representation of Avalokiteśvara is found only in one other picture of
our collection and claims special iconographic interest because, as
Mr. Binyon points out, according to Far-Eastern tradition ‘it was an
Emperor of the Sung period who first in a dream saw’ Avalokiteśvara as
he is here depicted ‘and commanded the dream to be painted; but, no
doubt, the subject is of earlier origin’.[47] We shall see below that
in the case of Kṣitigarbha, too, the evidence of the Ch‘ien-fo-tung
paintings proves a certain iconographic type to have developed earlier
than Japanese tradition would lead us to assume.
Avalokiteśvara, dressed and adorned in the style of an ‘Indian’
Bodhisattva, is seated with the right foot tucked under and the left
pendent, resting on an open lotus which rises from the water. His
right hand holds a willow branch and his left the usual emblem of
the flask. The whole figure is enclosed in a large circular halo
drawn in red outline. A group of conventional willow trees fills the
right segment of the halo and rises above it. On the opposite side
there appears above on a cloud the small-scale figure of a man in a
Chinese magistrate’s robes and head-dress, kneeling with hands joined
in adoration. Two boys wearing their hair in rolls behind the neck
stand at his back. A draped canopy extends across the upper end of
the picture. At its bottom, on the bank bordering the water, is shown
an altar. Flanking it on the right appears the donor, carrying a
censer and wearing the black coat and wide-brimmed hat characteristic
of tenth-century male costume. Four cartouches distributed over the
picture have remained uninscribed.
The drawing is careful and the execution superior notwithstanding the
simplicity of the colour scheme, restricted mainly to scarlet, light
blue, and pale green.
The picture reproduced on the left (Ch. 0054), on the scale of
three-fifths of the original, has some interesting peculiarities.
Above we see seated on a rectangular platform a Bodhisattva who from
the attendant divinities and the emblem, a tall vase, held by the one
to his right, may safely be assumed to represent Avalokiteśvara. His
dress, coiffure, and accessories are those of Bodhisattva figures
of the type above distinguished as ‘Chinese’. The decoration of the
platform, which, as the lions’ heads appearing in pairs below within
arched openings show, is meant for a _siṃhāsana_ or ‘lion’s throne’,
reproduces textile patterns manifestly influenced by ‘Sassanian’ models.
The presentation of only the left half of the god’s ‘Maṇḍala’ is an
unusual feature but accounted for by the narrow shape of the painting,
no doubt intended for a banner. It comprises below two Bodhisattvas
standing in adoration, next a pair of haloed monks, above them two
Lokapālas, and at the top a trident-carrying demon. One of the
Lokapālas is characterized by his jewelled mace as Virūḍhaka, Regent
of the South. To the right of the central deity and below the canopy
three infants are shown kneeling on a cloud and playing on flute,
mouth-organ, and clappers. Below them again and by the side of the
large halo stands a small Bodhisattva, also carried on a cloud and
clasping the tall vase already referred to. It is stoppered and mottled
blue and white, obviously in imitation of glazed ceramic ware.
The lower portion of the painting is filled by a procession moving to
the left and comprising a high Chinese dignitary in the centre and
his numerous retinue. In this central figure, who is attended by two
men holding crossed fans over his head and is obviously the donor, we
may in all probability recognize one of those local chiefs who, as
we know from Chinese historical notices and inscriptions, ruled the
region of Tun-huang in the ninth and tenth centuries as hereditary
governors under the suzerainty of the Emperors.[48] This personage,
over a trailing white under-robe, wears a black jacket ornamented with
symbols in yellow, of which the discs emblematic of the Sun and the
Moon, a pair of rampant dragons, and the Svastika can be made out quite
clearly. He alone appears as a worshipper, and an elaborate head-dress
of peculiar shape marks his high rank.
In his _cortège_ we see officials wearing white under-robes and black
jackets with various formal patterns of a stiff black head-dress. Three
among them carry long swords before them, pointed downwards, while
two hold rolls of paper. One of the latter, walking beside the chief,
is represented as a mere boy and may perhaps be a son. Two others in
somewhat different costume, including shirts of mail under shorter
jackets, walk a little apart. The two fan-bearers are attired in short
jackets and white trousers, and on the feet of the coarsely drawn
figure to the right we notice string sandals of exactly the same type
as attested by plentiful specimens among my finds from the Tun-huang
_Limes_.
There can be no doubt that the lower portion of the picture, with
its animated if rather rough drawing, represents a scene such as old
Tun-huang must have often witnessed on ceremonial occasions. It is
hence specially to be regretted that the absence of any dedicatory
inscription leaves us in ignorance of the date and the particular local
chief represented.
PLATE XXV
TWO PAINTINGS OF KṢITIGARBHA
Both the paintings of this Plate represent Kṣitigarbha,
Avalokiteśvara’s only possible rival in popularity among the
Bodhisattvas of the Buddhist Pantheon of the Far East. Though well
known in China as Ti-tsang and in Japan as Jizō, yet his early and
frequent appearance among the Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings was something
of a surprise, considering that neither in Indian nor in Central-Asian
Buddhism does his figure play a prominent part. Among the Bodhisattvas
represented in our banners he is always clearly distinguished by
the shaven head of the monk and the barred or mottled mantle, the
mendicant’s garment.[49] Other paintings help to illustrate the several
aspects of his character which account for his still prevailing
popularity in the Far East.
‘There he is still worshipped as one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas.
Through countless incarnations he has been working for the salvation
of living beings, and he is in especial honoured as the breaker of the
powers of hell. With his pilgrim’s staff he strikes upon the doors of
hell and opens them, and with the lustrous pearl which he carries he
illustrates its darkness. He is represented as Lord of the Six Worlds
of Desire, the world of the Devas or heavenly spirits, of men and
women, of Asuras or demons, of beings in hell, of Pretas or devils,
and of animals; and also as the supreme Regent of Hell with the Ten
Infernal Kings or Magistrates under him.’[50]
It is in this last-named character that we see Kṣitigarbha represented
in the large silk painting (Ch. 0021) which is reproduced on the right
of Plate XXV, on the scale of one-third. The Bodhisattva is seen seated
on a rock covered with a figured cloth. His right foot rests on a
lotus and the left is bent across. The left hand holds the mendicant’s
staff over his shoulder, while the right, resting on the knee,
supports a crystal ball. Over a green under-robe he wears a mantle
of grey, mottled with black, red, and green, and barred with yellow.
The traveller’s shawl, grey ornamented with a spot pattern in yellow,
is bound round his head and falls on his shoulders. Of the usual
Bodhisattvas’ adornment only a jewelled necklace and bracelets appear.
A multicoloured halo, edged with flames, forms the background to the
figure, while above it hangs a canopy represented by flowered sprays
and strings of jewels.
Down the two sides are ranged the ten Infernal Kings or Magistrates,
seated at draped tables, on which scrolls of judgement are spread.
Attendants wait on them in varying attitudes, taking instructions,
delivering reports, holding fans, &c. With the exception of a
fan-holder in demon shape, the attendants are all in secular Chinese
dress. All the Judges but one wear Chinese magisterial costume: long
under-robes, voluminous wide-sleeved coats of scarlet and white, and
official head-dress in a variety of shapes, black, yellow, or white.
The topmost Judge on the right is clad in full armour, with helmet and
a coat of mail, fringed with tiger-skin, and reaching down to the feet.
In front of Kṣitigarbha is seated a white lion, faced by a monk raising
his hands in adoration to the Bodhisattva. Further in the foreground we
see a condemned soul, naked except for a loin-cloth, and wearing the
_cangue_, led by an ox-headed mace-carrying demon. In a magic mirror he
is made to see the crime for which he has been condemned—the murder of
an ox. A cloud above the mirror marks the scene as a dream. Beside the
mirror stands an attendant holding brush and scroll.
The numerous cartouches scattered about have been left uninscribed,
or have become illegible. The same is the case with those by the
donors’ figures at the foot of the picture. Foremost on either side
kneels a monk holding a censer. Behind the one on the right stands a
boy attendant holding the fungus sceptre (_ju-ī_), and behind him again
kneels a man with the wide-brimmed black hat usual in tenth-century
costume. The same chronological indication is furnished by the dress
and coiffure of the ladies who are shown kneeling behind the monk on
the left.
The picture on the left of the Plate (Ch. lviii. 003, reproduced on
the scale of three-eighths) is complete with its border of purple silk
gauze and suspension loops, and shows Kṣitigarbha in his character of
Lord of the Six Worlds, or _Gatis_, and Patron of Travellers. He sits
facing the spectator on a scarlet lotus in a pose which is the exact
reverse of the one shown by Kṣitigarbha in the previously described
painting. Thus the right hand holds the mendicant’s staff and the
left the ball of crystal. The under-robe, shaded in red and green,
is covered by a mantle of red and black inwoven on white ground and
barred with black. Over his head and shoulders is thrown a grey shawl
ornamented with yellow spots and having a scarlet border on which large
flowers in green and white are figured.
On a flat-topped rock in front of the Bodhisattva, covered with an
altar-cloth, is a large green bowl, containing an open lotus. On either
side sits or kneels a Bodhisattva in adoring attitude.
From either side of Kṣitigarbha’s red and green halo rise three waving
rays of scarlet; each of them carry small figures meant to represent
the Six Worlds of Desire. They are on the right: above, a man for the
World of Men; a deity supporting discs of the Sun and Moon, for the
World of the Gods; a Preta amongst flames for the World of Hell. On the
left the Bodhisattva-like figure at the top represents the World of the
Asuras, or demigods; on the middle ray two representatives of the World
of Animals are recognizable in spite of the broken condition of the
silk, while below a devil with pitchfork and cauldron symbolizes the
World of Demons.
At the bottom of the picture we see represented a stone slab bearing
a dedicatory inscription and on either side of it two finely drawn
figures of men and ladies respectively. Their costume and hair-dress
furnish good examples of the type characteristic or donor figures of
the tenth century. The inscription on the slab is dated in A. D. 963,
and according to M. Petrucci records the dedication of the painting by
a certain votary who prays for deliverance from long illness. He makes
his offering also for the benefit of his departed parents and of two
other relatives named in the cartouches by their sides.
PLATE XXVI
VAIŚRAVAṆA’S PROGRESS
The excellently preserved painting (Ch. xxxvii. 002) which this Plate
reproduces on a scale of slightly over one-half presents to us the
triumphant progress of Vaiśravaṇa, Guardian of the North and the
principal of the Lokapālas, or Protectors of the Four Regions. The
important position which the Lokapālas still enjoy in popular Buddhist
worship of the Far East is clearly marked by the frequency of their
representation among our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings. This again fully
agrees with the early origin of their conception as attested by Indian
art and tradition, and with what numerous frescoes and sculptures
brought to light by recent excavations in Chinese Turkestān show as to
their popularity in Central-Asian Buddhism.[51]
The foremost place among the Lokapālas of our paintings is occupied
by Vaiśravaṇa, the Protector of the Northern Region. This is fully
accounted for by the early Indian notion which identified this
particular ‘world-protector’ with Kubera, the Hindu god of wealth,
King of the Yakṣas. A further reason may be sought in the special
worship which Vaiśravaṇa as _genius loci_ enjoyed at Khotan, a main
seat of Buddhism in Eastern Turkestān and one in close relations with
Tun-huang.[52] Apart from the frequent appearance of his figure in
our banners, Vaiśravaṇa’s pre-eminent position is attested by the
fact that, alone among the Protectors of the Regions, he is found in
pictures attended by his demon host and in triumphant procession.
With one of these pictures, the small Kakemono-shaped silk painting
reproduced in Plate XLV and a work of high artistic merit, we shall
concern ourselves below. The other shown by our Plate, if not so
careful in design and execution, is yet remarkable for its spirited
composition and displays points of distinct iconographic interest.
It represents Vaiśravaṇa riding in full gallop across the ocean
accompanied by a numerous host representing his army of Yakṣas, or
demons. He is seen, as always, in the guise of a warrior king, and
wears here a young and strongly human appearance. Mounted on a white
horse with scarlet mane and tail, he turns back in the saddle and
with his mouth open seems to call to his followers. The right hand is
raised, while the left grasps the reins. The straight nose and eyes
give a distinctly Western look to his face, and in agreement with this
are the light blue iris of the eyes and the dark brown colour of the
hair, including a recurved moustache and tufts of beard and whiskers.
A long close-fitting coat of scale armour,[53] coloured yellow with
scarlet straps and border, reaches down below the knee. A leather
skirt-piece ornamented with flowers is secured round the waist and
hips, and below the coat floats out a long olive-green under-robe.
A high three-leaved crown covers the head; its shape and the long
streamers flying up from behind it distinctly suggest derivation from
Persian models. There are more indications also of Iranian influence in
details of this and other Lokapāla pictures; but this is not the place
to discuss them.[54] Broad streamers of flame rise from Vaiśravaṇa’s
shoulders and take the place of a nimbus.
There are points of interest also in the accoutrement of Vaiśravaṇa’s
horse. Its head, which is very small in proportion to neck and body,
is protected by a frontlet of scale-armour. Above the head-stall is
fixed a pair of black and white feathers. The numerous pompon-like
knobs or tassels which hang from the breast-band and crupper belong
to a type of ‘horse-millinery’ which is well known from Buddhist
paintings of Central Asia and India and is characteristic also
of the representation of chargers in Sassanian relievos.[55] Passing
reference may be made here also to the appearance of decorative motifs
unmistakably borrowed from textiles of ‘Sassanian’ style on the
Lokapāla’s dress and that of his horse.
In front of Vaiśravaṇa march two Yakṣas clad in what seems to be meant
for mail armour and carrying red pennons. Behind him are seen moving
other demon followers, all grotesque in appearance, and two with animal
jaws, &c. They carry a large flag decorated with a peculiar check and
vandyke pattern and a miniature Stūpa, both emblems associated with
Vaiśravaṇa also in the picture of Plate XLV, as well as a battle-axe
and bow and arrows. In the foreground are shown in violent movement
three goblins of savage look carrying jars and vases and apparently
quarrelling with the Yakṣas. As one of them attacks the latter with
a branch of coral or ‘Nāga tree’ in his hand, they may represent the
Nāgas from whom according to the legend Vaiśravaṇa won his treasure.
The flaming jewels and square-holed coins scattered in the foreground
seem to have the same symbolic bearing.
At the rear stand two human figures in Chinese secular costume, the man
with a mitre-like head-dress and a roll in his hands, the fair-faced
lady with hands joined in adoration and her hair done in the elaborate
tenth-century fashion. Whether they are meant for the donors of the
picture seems uncertain. The whole host is swept along on a cloud from
Vaiśravaṇa’s mansion, represented by a Chinese pavilion in the left top
corner, and moves across the sea, which is bounded in the background
by a mountain range (Mount Meru) and in the foreground by cliffs.
Infants, ducks, a shark-jawed monster’s head, and a nymph float here in
the water between scarlet lotuses, while on the cliffs there appears a
stag. Flowers are scattered in the air above.
The workmanship, while well finished throughout, shows an ease and
boldness which befits the subject. The simplicity of the colour scheme,
which is almost entirely confined to yellow, scarlet, and white on
greenish-brown tints of the background, helps the eye to take in the
rapidity of the movement represented.
PLATE XXVII
VIRŪPĀKṢA AND MAÑJUŚRĪ
The silk banner reproduced on the right, on the scale of three-fifths
(Ch. 0040), presents a fine example of the banners showing Virūpākṣa,
the Guardian of the West. Next to Vaiśravaṇa he is the most frequently
portrayed of Lokapālas in our paintings, always clearly recognizable
by his particular emblem, the sword. Like the rest of the ‘Four Great
Kings’ shown in the banners Virūpākṣa stands on the back of a crouching
demon serving as his ‘cognizance’ (_vāhana_) and representing the
Yakṣas over whom he rules. A small curling cloud above his haloed head
marks the whole as a vision. Both ends of the banner are broken and its
accessories lost, but otherwise it is almost intact.
The figure, displaying force and dignity combined, belongs to a
class of Lokapāla representations among our paintings which, from
certain peculiarities in the style of treatment and in detail, may be
distinguished as ‘Chinese’ from another suggesting closer affinity to
a Central-Asian prototype. Representatives of both classes are seen in
Plate XLVII. But the general character of the figures and their warrior
costume is essentially the same throughout. This suggests, in accord
with other indications, that the type, though no doubt originally
derived from the West, had undergone thorough adaptation to Chinese art
feeling and was fully established long before the probable period when
these banners were painted.[56]
Our painting well illustrates certain characteristics of the former
group in the three-quarter profile of the Lokapāla’s figure and the
sweeping curve of pose, with the body thrown out to the waist;
in the freedom and movement imparted to the drawing mainly by the
treatment of the flowing drapery; and in some minor peculiarities
of armour and dress. Though Virūpākṣa’s face is quiet, without any
distortion such as usually imparts a grotesque look to the Lokapālas
of the ‘Chinese’ group, we note the oblique cut of the eyes which is
peculiar to it, as well as other Chinese features.
The rich armour and dress with which the Guardians of the World are
always depicted and the manifold variations in their details are
obviously of considerable antiquarian interest and have been fully
discussed elsewhere.[57] The painting in our Plate illustrates them
with particular clearness. Virūpākṣa’s head is covered by a helmet made
of scale-armour and strengthened with leather bands and a wide leather
brim curling up at ear-level. That the scales represented on the helmet
and elsewhere are meant for scales of lacquered hard leather is made
highly probable by actual scale-armour remains of this kind brought to
light by my excavations at sites in the Taklamakān and Lop deserts.[58]
A lotus-shaped spike is fixed on the top with a recurved gold stem
in front, supporting a plume. Beneath the helmet comes a gorget,
apparently also of scale-armour, descending on to the shoulders.
From there down to the hips the body is protected by a coat of mail,
made of round-edged scales overlapping downwards as far as the
waist-belt and of oblong scales laced sideways beyond it. A strong
corslet, supported by straps from the shoulders and fitted with
ornamented metal discs over the breasts, is fastened across the chest.
Below is fixed an upper belt, apparently of ornamented leather. The
lower belt, of black leather, carries a centrepiece in the form of an
elaborate beast’s mask. The coat of mail is finished off at the bottom
by a short pleated frill, shown here in green, and above the elbows by
what looks like a ruff made of petal-shaped scales. From within this
protrudes swathed drapery of red and dark grey, as if of sleeves.
From beneath the mail coat descends in rich folds a red skirt with blue
border and whitish lining, leaving the knees bare; also the ends of a
long girdle, looped up in front, curl about the legs. These from below
the knees are encased in greaves, probably made of stiff leather like
the corslet. A row of metal clasps secures them in front, while a large
disc of dark purple leather set with a central gold boss covers the
calf. The greaves are finished off at the bottom by ankle-guards, in
the form of a stiff ruff, apparently also of leather. Guards of closely
corresponding shape protect the forearms. The feet are shod with
plain sandals held by a single toe- and heel-strap. A greenish stole,
hanging round the shoulders and festooned across the front of the body,
completes the Lokapāla’s rich costume.
The nude demon underfoot is shaded blue and has a dog-like face; the
hands on which he crouches are misshapen and a flame bundle rising from
his head takes the place of hair.
The banner reproduced on the left (Ch. 0036, scale seven-ninths)
represents the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī seated on his white lion and, apart
from the lost accessories, is remarkably well preserved. Its style, in
instructive contrast to that of the Lokapāla picture just discussed,
provides a good example of the maintenance of Indian tradition in
Chinese Buddhist art.
The Bodhisattva, whom we have met already in several of the previously
discussed paintings,[59] is seated on a scarlet lotus which a golden
pedestal carried on the back of his ‘Vāhana’ supports. Mañjuśrī’s
figure is entirely Indian in physical type, pose, and dress. With his
right leg bent across and the left pendent and resting on a small blue
lotus, he keeps his body inclined to the left proper. To the right
hand stretched downwards in the _vara-mudrā_ corresponds the pose
of the head, which is bent over the right shoulder and balances the
slant of the body. The left hand rests on the lotus-seat and holds a
long-stemmed gracefully curving lotus. The body has feminine contours
and is painted a dull pinkish yellow. The hair, light blue in colour,
shows flat above the forehead and straggles down to the shoulder in
small ringlets. The face is round with small features and oblique eyes
cast downwards.
The dress is just as characteristically Indian. It consists of a short
crimson _laṅgōṭī_ flowered with blue rosettes and a transparent skirt
of purple gauze which drapes the legs to the ankles. A fold of this
crosses the body from the left shoulder. Round the neck is thrown a
narrow stole, green spotted with white, which, where it passes over the
right forearm, takes the form of a ‘triple cord’, distinctively Hindu.
The rich jewellery comprises heavy bracelets and anklets, serpentine
armlets, ear-rings, and a double necklace from which hang green and
blue lotus buds. A tiara of solid gold work, mounted with jewels,
crowns the head.
Behind the figure appears a circular halo and behind the head a nimbus
of elongated oval shape, both of variegated rings of colour. Above are
seen the remains of a tasselled canopy waving with the lion’s advance.
The lion strides to the left with his head turned back and the mouth
wide open as if roaring. His mane is represented by conventional curls
in different colours. Red spots are shown on breast, jowl, and back of
legs. From his breast-band and crupper hang heavy tassels and ornaments
similar to those above noted on Vaiśravaṇa’s horse. The attendant who
leads him by a red rope is shown as usually with very dark skin, coarse
features, and bushy black hair, suggesting a negro. His dress consists
of a narrow stole and a red and blue _dhōtī_-like skirt, tucked up at
the knees. He wears also jewellery of a simple kind.
The design of the whole is harmonious and instinct with life,
notwithstanding the hieratic conventions of the subject borrowed from
distant India, and the workmanship is very careful.
PLATE XXVIII
BUST OF A LOKAPĀLA
In this Plate we see a fine fragment of a silk painting once over
life-size (Ch. liv. 003), reproduced on the scale of five-eighths and
showing the upper part of the body of a Lokapāla. From the bow between
his arm and body and the arrow held in his hand we can safely recognize
him as Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the Guardian of the East. The figure, preserved only
from the bearded jaws down to the hip-belt, is standing three-fourths
to the left, with the left hand outspread at the breast and holding
that World-Protector’s special emblem, the arrow.
The King’s flesh is painted a tawny brown, the finely drawn and
slightly parted lips deep crimson. The sweeping beard, which must have
given to the face a particularly strong if not fierce expression, is
black. The equipment is very rich and painted in a series of vivid
colours, scarlet, orange, blue, mauve, green, and black. Profuse jewel
or semi-naturalistic floral ornaments, the latter, no doubt, copied
from textile designs, all painted in the same bright colours, cover
the discs of the corslet, straps, borders, pedestals of the jewelled
shoulder bosses, &c.
Of special interest is the representation of the armour. On the
shoulders and skirt it consists of oblong scales overlapping upwards,
as very often elsewhere in our paintings and also in relievos.[60] But
on the body it is represented by small interlacing black circles, on a
white ground, manifestly intended for chain-armour. The coat of mail
is finished on the top by a blue jewelled collar, probably of hard
lacquered leather like the rest of the armour, lying back from the
neck. White streamers falling on the breast from behind the ears show
that the Lokapāla’s head bore a tiara, not a helmet.
Though the surviving part is only a fragment, with edges broken all
round, enough remains to show that with its vigorous drawing, fine
workmanship, and brilliant colouring, the whole must have been a very
effective picture.
PLATE XXIX
TWO DHARMAPĀLAS AND A BODHISATTVA
Among the silk banners reproduced in this Plate, all on the scale
of three-fifths, the two on the sides (Ch. liv. 002 on the left and
Ch. 004 on the right) show us Dharmapālas, or ‘Protectors of the
Law’. These divinities are conceived as forms of Vajrapāṇi in fury
and are still favourite figures in the Buddhist imagery of the Far
East. Originally derived from the ancient Gandhāra representations
of the thunderbolt bearer (Vajrapāṇi), they meet us already in the
sixth-century relievos of the Lung-mên grottoes in China.[61] They
show there those poses and that exaggerated development of the muscles
which, together with other grotesque features, remain characteristics
of the type exhibited in a more or less conventionalized form by the
Dharmapāla figures in the paintings and sculptures of Tun-huang. These
figures, as M. Foucher has justly observed, ‘already make us think of
the athletic demons of Japan’.
Like the rest of our Dharmapāla paintings, the two banners reproduced
here are but slightly distinguished from each other in type and may
hence be briefly described together. They are excellently preserved
and complete, with head-piece and streamers at bottom, which, however,
from consideration of space are omitted in the Plate. Both Dharmapālas
have the muscular body in tense attitude, the grotesque head with
its furious downward look, and the large richly ornamented Vajra
representing the thunderbolt. They stand slightly to one side with the
feet planted apart on two lotuses and the head turned back over the
shoulder. There is a difference in the pose of the arms and hands. In
the banner on the left the Dharmapāla raises his right arm with the
hand open threateningly above his head, while the left hand by the side
grasps the Vajra. In the other figure the right hand supports the end
of the Vajra and the left, with fingers stiffly spread, steadies it
half-way up.
In either figure the head shows a grotesque face with enlarged staring
eyes, misshapen nose, fierce moustaches, and a beard in long straggling
tufts. The flesh is painted light brown. The muscles and joints of body
and limbs are emphasized with conventional exaggeration, but with an
effect full of vigour. The muscles are drawn in strong black lines to
which modelling is added by brushwork in light red or pink. Abundantly
decked with jewellery as the figures are, they carry but scanty dress.
It comprises a short skirt, bright crimson or scarlet with slate
border, which is tied round the hips by a trailing white girdle; also a
narrow stole, olive green with brown or pink reverse, which winds over
both forearms.
The sinuous lines of the drapery, the fillet ends of the head-dress
flying upwards, the coiling clouds above the haloed heads, all help to
intensify the expression of violent effort. The same end is well served
by the bold lines of the drawing and the strong and clear colours used.
The banner in the centre (Ch. 001) is, but for the lost accessories,
in an excellent condition, and shows in its figure a fine example of
the Bodhisattva type which has been distinguished above under the
conventional designation of ‘Chinese’.
The Bodhisattva, as yet unidentified, stands in a peculiar pose not
elsewhere represented among our paintings. He stands on an open lotus,
with the raised right hand holding at shoulder level a round bowl of
mottled green glass with a metal rim. The head is turned three-quarters
towards the bowl, while the left hand hangs down by the side. As the
weight of the body is carried on the right leg and the body slightly
inclines from the right hip towards the left shoulder, attention is
cleverly drawn by the pose to the object which the right hand supports.
The face shows conventional features of the ‘Chinese’ Bodhisattva type
in the small slanting eyes, heavy cheeks, and small full mouth. The
down-turned corners of the mouth and the wrinkles marked below the
outer ends of the nostrils impart a curious expression to the face.
As in all these banners, the flesh is left the natural colour of the
silk, with delicate shading in faint pink to show the modelling of face
and body.
The dress is the traditional Bodhisattva attire in a particularly
elaborate form. A trailing skirt of pale pink, with blue border,
drapes the figure from the waist to the feet. Its upper edge is held
by a white girdle and gold-edged belt. The end of this girdle hangs
down with loops in front and the end of another behind it, made of a
rich flowered red material. An under-robe of dull red appears only
above the feet. The upper half of the body is nude except for a band
of purplish-pink drapery, elaborate jewellery, and a filmy blue stole
which shown in delicate transparent colour descends over shoulders and
arms to the ground.
The abundant jewellery is of a type with which we have already become
familiar in paintings of Avalokiteśvara and elsewhere. The head-dress
consists of a narrow fillet of white drapery, ending with a narrow
white band which hangs in a long loop to the knees. Over the forehead
it carries a light gold ornament ending above in two lotus buds which
spring backwards over the black hair. This falls behind in heavy
locks down to the elbows and forms a dark background to the bust. The
circular nimbus is made up of variegated rings of colour such as are
seen round the heads of the Bodhisattvas in Plate XLI. The elaborate
canopy is of a kind we have already met with. Its straight-hanging
tassels agree with the motionless attitude of the figure. Yet
notwithstanding this attitude the whole picture in its highly finished
style seems instinct with life.
PLATE XXX
SIDE-SCENES AND DETAILS FROM A BUDDHIST PARADISE PAINTING
This Plate reproduces some side-scenes and small portions from the
fine but very fragmentary remains of a large silk painting (Ch.
00216) representing a Buddhist Heaven, probably that of Amitābha. The
colours of what is preserved are in remarkably fresh condition, and
this, together with the large scale of reproduction (four-sevenths),
facilitates close examination of interesting details.
Taking the side-scenes as shown in the left portion of the Plate we
may note first the fine floral border which separates the two at the
top from the main picture. Its vermilion ground is covered with rich
trailing bunches of flowers and leaves painted in a variety of vivid
colours. With their naturalistic style they closely recall the designs
which are displayed by plentiful embroidery remains I recovered from
the hoard of the ‘Thousand Buddhas’.[62] The outside border of the
whole is decorated with bold groups of entwined tendrils in orange-red
over dark brown, showing in their style a curious affinity to certain
of the cloud scrolls which appear on the fine textile remains of Han
times brought to light by me from ancient sites in the Lop Desert.[63]
The two side-scenes above form part of a series extending along the
left side of the picture and illustrating the ancient Buddhist legend
of Ajātaśatru, the wicked son of King Bimbisāra. Chinese inscriptions
accompany most of these scenes; but the upper one of those here
reproduced has lost its inscription and its identification is hence not
quite certain. It, however, appears to represent Ajātaśatru with his
sword drawn menacing Bimbisāra, who is attempting to draw his own. Both
are wearing flowing robes such as form elsewhere in our paintings the
costume of ministers. The scene seems laid below the stairs leading up
to the royal palace.
The scene below appears, according to the but partially legible
inscription, to represent Ajātaśatru after repentance entering the
Buddhist monkhood. What survives of the scene shows three men in plain
belted coats advancing to the left in front of a decorated and
streamered pavilion. This and the building behind display very clearly
characteristic features of Chinese architecture such as the tiled
roofs, the recurving roof-tree ends, the confronting bird heads on the
roof ridge, &c. On the right of the scene we see a subsidiary Buddha,
standing with a Bodhisattva by his side, as in the corresponding groups
of other Paradise paintings.[64]
The scenes below belong to a different series which extended along the
bottom of the picture. They show in the left corner the Death of the
Wicked. He lies stretched out on a couch placed in a verandah with his
wife watching him, while two shock-headed demons strangle him with
scarlet ropes. Below is seen on a cloud, as a vision, the boiling
cauldron into which his body is being flung by one of the ox-headed
gaolers of hell, who stands by carrying a trident-shaped pitchfork.
The adjoining scene depicts the Sickness of the Wicked. He sits up,
supported by a woman, on the bed laid within a porch or verandah.
In the foreground a younger woman with a lute and a man carrying a
leaf-shaped red object and stooping advance towards what seems a mat
with offerings laid on the ground. They are small black dishes with red
contents (burning incense?), clouds of white smoke drifting from some
of them.
The third scene of this series is incomplete and having lost its
inscription cannot be identified. It shows a man in purple coat and
tailed cap running to the back of the scene between a verandahed
structure and a shrine built of grey tiles, with his hands brandishing
a stick over his head. In front a man, similarly dressed and perhaps
meant to be the same person, is seen with bared arms and body violently
belabouring another, in purple coat and with the blue close-cropped
hair of a monk, who kneels on the ground and holds his hand to his head.
Of the fragments of the main picture reproduced on the right the upper
one shows us a group of musicians, seated on a small evidently carpeted
platform and facing towards a dancer (now lost) as usually seen in the
large Paradise pictures. Of the instruments played a psaltery, harp,
lute, and two flutes of different kinds are still recognizable. It is
of interest to note that the carpet with a Chinese floral pattern in
the centre combines a medallion border of unmistakably ‘Sassanian’
design.[65] The Bodhisattva figure on the left belongs to the group of
a standing subsidiary Buddha already mentioned.
The fragment reproduced below is from the top left corner of the
picture. There, against a deep blue sky sprinkled with gilded stars
and above the steeply curved indigo roof of a celestial mansion, we
see a flaming jewel on a lotus pedestal; white streamers flying from
a central pavilion; small drums floating in air to symbolize heavenly
music, and in the middle Samantabhadra seated on his white elephant and
attended by two Bodhisattvas. The drums, painted dark brown and tied
with red ribbons, are of interest on account of their different shapes.
Whether cylindrical or narrow-waisted, they have strings stretched
outside for the production of different notes by pressure under the
arm. One has also a projecting staff with cross-hammer.
PLATE XXXI
A TIBETAN PAINTING OF TĀRĀ
This Plate reproduces the only painting (Ch. lii. 001, scale
three-fourths) among those brought away from the walled-up chapel which
is entirely Tibetan in style. The special interest it derives from
this fact is further increased by the probability of its being ‘the
oldest of its kind now in existence, or at least one of the oldest’.
Mr. Binyon in his Introduction[66] has already referred to the Tibetan
supremacy established in the Tun-huang region from the middle
of the eighth to the middle of the ninth century as explaining the
presence of this Tibetan painting. He has also lucidly discussed the
relation which links the art of Buddhist Tibet, in spite of its marked
and strangely persistent peculiarities, closely with Chinese art. My
remarks may hence be confined to the technique and iconography of the
painting.
The picture, which is preserved complete together with its frame of
dark green silk, is painted in tempera on strong close-woven linen. The
colours have generally darkened and in places have been rubbed off,
leaving whitish patches or the cloth bare.[67]
The subject is the goddess Tārā, the Śakti or female emanation of
Avalokiteśvara. The goddess, represented in her usual form as a
beautiful young woman, is seated in the centre on a variegated lotus
which floats on the blue water of a lake. She sits with her right knee
raised and the left leg bent across. The right hand with palm turned
outwards in the _vara-mudrā_ rests on the right knee, the left is at
the breast, both holding long curving sprays with a conventional blue
lotus at the end. The pose of the body slightly inclined to the right
is balanced by the head leaning in the opposite direction. The sinuous
line of the whole figure conforms to a characteristic tendency of
Tibetan art. The flesh had been gilded, but this gilding has almost
entirely worn off.
The goddess wears a dark red skirt and stole spangled with gilded
flowers. Her knees are covered with elaborately ornamented caps. Rich
jewellery decks neck and breast. Above her black hair bound with
scarlet fillets is set a five-leaved tiara with a high-peaked crown.
A nimbus of very dark green, now almost turned to black, sets off the
head, while behind the figure is shown an oval vesica with a rayed
border of rainbow-like colours.
On a dark cloud above the goddess’s head appears the small figure
of a Buddha seated in meditation with the alms-bowl in his lap. On
either side of him, on praying mats carried by dark green clouds,
sit two black-haloed saints wearing the peaked hoods of Lamas. Along
the sides of the picture are ranged eight subsidiary forms of Tārā,
differentiated by varying colours of flesh and dress. Their pose is the
same as that of the central goddess; the right hand rests on the knee,
holding a flask, and the left raises a long-stemmed blue lotus.
Interspersed between these subsidiary Tārās are shown six scenes of
deliverance from Calamities similar to those represented on the sides
of certain Paradise paintings, such as the one in Plates I, II. Not all
are intelligible; but we may note in the middle one on the left a man
being pushed over a cliff into the lake. In the scene opposite on the
right he is seen calmly kneeling on a lotus, flame-encircled, while
another man on the cliff above looks on in astonishment. In the left
bottom corner are seen three men pursued by different animals, and to
the right of them a barge-like boat sailing on the lake, with a fourth
man kneeling in prayer. The men throughout these scenes are shown in
Chinese secular costume such as is often seen in our Jātaka banners.
While these figures clearly point to a Chinese model of the scenes,
the demonic deity in the centre of the foreground shows characteristic
features of truly Tibetan taste. His squat dark blue figure sits
sideways on a yellow horse, brandishing a scarlet club in his right
hand. His hair is a flaming mass streaming upwards; a man’s bleeding
head hangs from his saddle-cloth. It is impossible to mistake here a
conception of that monstrous type which Tibetan Buddhism under the
influence of Tantra doctrines absorbed from India and under that of its
own demon worship has always greatly cherished.
PLATE XXXII
PAPER PICTURES OF A BODHISATTVA, SAINT, AND MONK
Of the pictures reproduced in this Plate (all on the scale of
three-fifths) the two on the sides bear Tibetan inscriptions and
thereby prove themselves as produced and deposited after the Tibetan
conquest of Tun-huang. But there is nothing essential to distinguish
their style from that of other of our paintings in which hieratic
figures are represented with close adherence to traditional treatment
derived from India.
The paper painting on the left (Ch. 00377) shows a Bodhisattva of the
type above designated as ‘Indian’ seated on a yellow lotus, with legs
all but crossed and the right hand raised in the _vitarka-mudrā_. The
Tibetan inscription kindly read by Dr. Barnett[68] describes him as the
‘Lord of the upper region’, and as the Indian cosmic system places the
Sun and Moon in this ‘upper region’, the discs above the Bodhisattva,
with the emblem of the Sun god on the right and that of the Moon god
(now effaced) on the left, are fully accounted for.
The Bodhisattva’s face bears a somewhat ferocious aspect; his flesh
is faintly coloured with pink. His garments are touched with pink,
crimson, and olive green, while the jewellery is left uncoloured.
The black hair is tied into a high topknot and descends in stylized
ringlets on the shoulders. The oval nimbus and vesica are both edged
with flames.
The paper painting (Ch. 00376) on the right, which belongs to the
same series, is a more pleasing production. According to the Tibetan
inscription below the haloed figure represents Kālika, a disciple of
Śākyamuni and the fourth of the Great Apostles. He is seated on a mat,
cross-legged and wrapped in a red and buff mantle lined with olive
green. The right hand carries the mendicant’s bowl; the head is shaven.
The monk’s features are full of character and drawn with much decision.
On the right is stuck the beggar’s staff, with a bracket from which
hangs his wallet.
Superior to these paintings in design and workmanship is the drawing on
paper (Ch. 00145) reproduced in the middle. It shows a monk seated on
a mat in meditation. His shaven head, with large, somewhat straight,
features, bears an expression of firmness and concentration admirably
rendered with a few fluent lines. Neither eyes nor nose and mouth bear
a Chinese look. And yet the whole drawing clearly bears the impress of
a Chinese artist’s brush.
The monk wears an ample mantle, and below it an under-robe with
conventional cross bars marking the mendicant’s patched garb. In front
are deposited his shoes, behind to the left is placed a high stoppered
vase, while on a thorn-tree to the right are hung his rosary and
wallet. The drawing of the tree is unmistakably Chinese in character,
and the whole disposition of the little picture illustrates the mastery
of spacing inherent in Chinese artistic feeling. For once we are taken
away from the sphere of hieratic conventions and brought into touch
with life as the eyes of the artist, or those of an earlier master, saw
it.
PLATE XXXIII
PAPER PICTURES OF HERMIT AND HORSE-DRAGON
The two pictures on paper reproduced in this Plate on the scale of
three-fourths claim interest by their subjects as well as by their
artistic merit. The one on the right (Ch. 00380) presents an aged
hermit with a tiger walking by his side. The hermit is represented with
a face extremely wrinkled, shaggy eyebrows, deeply sunken eyes and
cheeks. With his right hand he leans upon a rough staff, in his left he
carries a stick ending in a Vajra and fly-whisk. He wears sandals, long
spotted trousers, and two tunics, the shorter of which is spotted,
has long sleeves, and reaches below the waist. His head is covered by a
mushroom hat put above a skull-cap and tied under the chin by scarlet
bands. On his back is seen a bundle of manuscript rolls tied in a cover
and slung by a chain to a thorny branch. The attachment of this branch
to the hermit’s person is not clear; but in another picture of the same
subject a pole supporting the bundle is shown as carried on his right
shoulder.
On the further side of the old man there advances a tiger of
disproportionately small size. Both figures stand on a cloud of dark
red fire, and above them in the left top corner appears a small seated
Buddha, also on a cloud. The paint used for the cloud scrolls has
destroyed much of the paper, and of the figure too, where it was used
on it. The only other colours are grey and a light pink, distributed
over the clothing and figure, while the flesh is left uncoloured. The
drawing of the hermit’s figure is done with masterly skill, especially
in the features, to which impressive strength is imparted by a few
lines combining firmness with great freedom.
Very different in character is the picture on the left (Ch. 00150), one
of the very few non-Buddhistic paintings from the ‘Thousand Buddhas’.
Its subject has not been determined with certainty, but may possibly be
related to the story of how the Emperor Fu-hsi, the legendary founder
of the Chinese polity, first received the system of written characters
from a ‘horse-dragon’.[69]
Before the kneeling monster we see standing a bearded man, with smiling
face, who holds tablet and brush in his hands in the act of writing.
The back of his figure has been cut off when adapting the picture as a
mount for the two woodcuts under which it was discovered. He is clad
in a white-sleeved under-robe, long pink mantle, and a stiff black
head-dress with a square ornament stuck in front. A branching column of
flame rises from the tablet. Others stream from the dragon’s head and
body.
The dragon is a composite monster. The head is of a conventional
lion-like type, with voluminous upstanding mane, out of which rise
three sharp-pointed objects resembling mountain peaks. The body
suggests that of a scaly snake, with wings of curling feathers attached
and with the forelegs of a bull (?). In the foreground lies a string of
square-holed Chinese coins, an emblem the meaning of which at present
escapes us. The whole is drawn with much vigour and, in spite of the
fearsome appearance of the monster, with a distinct touch of humour.
PLATES XXXIV, XXXV
EMBROIDERY PICTURE OF ŚĀKYAMUNI ON THE VULTURE PEAK
The large hanging in silk embroidery (Ch. 00260), to which the small
scale, one-tenth, and certain photographic difficulties do not allow
full justice to be done in this reproduction, is by its size—the
perfectly preserved central figure is close upon life-size—by its
remarkably skilful execution, and by its fine colours one of the most
impressive of the pictorial remains recovered. That it represents
Śākyamuni on Gṛdhrakūṭa, the ‘Vulture Peak’, famous in Buddhist legend
and situated near Rājagṛha, the present Rājgir, is conclusively proved
by the rocks behind the Buddha’s figure in the centre.
This fine, if hieratically stiff, figure, as I have already had
occasion to point out,[70] when discussing the statues shown by the
pictures in Plates XIII and XIV, in every detail of its pose and dress
reproduces a specific type, fixed originally by some Indian sculptural
representation.[71] But if its iconographic characteristics are
determined by long hieratic tradition, it is different with the setting
it has found here. In the whole composition of our picture is
revealed the individual touch of a master, and the skill and taste of
the craftsmen who reproduced his work make it easy for us to recognize
the merits of the lost original.
The design in our hanging has been worked solid throughout in
satin-stitch. The embroidery has been executed with admirable care
and the silks used have remained clean and glossy.[72] The ground is
a coarse natural-coloured linen faced with light buff silk. This has
mostly worn off in the interspaces of figures. Two of the figures,
too, representing monkish disciples, having fallen along the line
of folding, while the hanging was stored away and crushed for long
centuries, have perished except for remains of the heads. Otherwise
the picture is practically complete, and neither the effect of the
whole nor that of characteristic features of treatment is impaired.
Śākyamuni stands facing the spectator with his feet on a lotus.
His right arm hangs stiffly by his side with the fingers stretched
downwards and the palm turned to the side. The arm wrapped in the
folds of the glowing red mantle holds an ‘ear’ of it gathered at the
breast. The mantle closely draped about the body falls in a point to
below the knees and allows a light green under-robe to be seen thence
to the ankles. The yellow lining of the mantle shows in a rippling
edge along the outline of the left arm and down the body, a device
which is familiar already to Gandhāra sculpture. The right shoulder and
arm are left bare and are painted a deep golden yellow. The Buddha’s
face is shown in light buff and, curiously enough, the right forearm
as well. This distinction is emphasized in the case of the latter by
the work being executed in thin rows of chain-stitch and is obviously
intentional. But its iconographic significance is for the present
uncertain.[73] Behind the head, with its narrow, slightly slanting
eyes and hair of very dark indigo, appears a nimbus in plain rings of
variegated colours. A narrow halo shaped like a lotus petal, similarly
coloured, surrounds the whole figure, and behind this again appears a
border of rocks emblematic of the Vulture Peak.
By the side of the Buddha stand pairs of disciples and Bodhisattvas,
both on lotuses. The latter, who may represent Avalokiteśvara and
Mahāsthāma, turn three-fourths towards him; the one on the left with
hands in adoration, the other with both arms slightly advanced from the
elbows and the right hand held as if in the _vara-mudrā_. The dress and
adornments of these figures conform to those of Bodhisattvas of the
‘Indian’ type as already noticed, but are drawn more trimly. A certain
stiffness and simplicity in their design suggest close affinity to
Indian models. But in the Bodhisattvas’ faces we notice the influence
of Chinese style, as also in the ornamental borders of their dress.
Of the disciples’ figures in the background enough remains to show that
their heads were shaven and haloed and their dress that of monks, with
mantles barred with cross-stripes. The face of the one on the Buddha’s
left was lined and frowning, which suggests identity with Kāśyapa; the
other with face plump and benign may represent Śāriputra. By the side
of the small and somewhat stiff canopy above Śākyamuni’s head are seen
two graceful Apsaras floating down with outspread arms, borne up by
fine cloud scrolls and their billowing stoles. Their resemblance to the
Apsaras of Plates X and XI is striking.
Below the Buddha’s feet there kneels on either side a small lion of
conventional type with one forepaw lifted. Below them again is a panel
for a dedication, which, however, has never been worked in. Of the
narrow cartouches placed by each line of donors, only the two foremost
on the men’s side bear Chinese characters, now mostly illegible.
The groups of donors on either side of the panel, disposed in strict
symmetry, present special interest by their life-like treatment and by
their costumes. This is easily seen from Plate XXXV, which reproduces
the group of the ladies on the more adequate scale of two-fifths.
Arrayed in three lines and kneeling on mats, they all wear a very plain
type of dress. It comprises high-waisted skirts of brown, green, or
blue, bodices with long close-fitting sleeves, and small shawl-like
stoles. They have no jewels, and their hair is done in a small topknot
without any ornaments. By the side of the hindmost two ladies kneels
a child, and at the back stands a young female attendant in a long
plain gown. On the men’s side there kneels foremost a shaven monk in a
brown cloak, behind him three men dressed in long belted coats of light
greenish-blue and wearing peaked and tailed caps of dark brown or blue.
A young attendant with bare head holding a staff stands at the back.
A glance at the lay donors is enough to prove that the dress in each
case is in closest agreement with that worn by the donors in the two
paintings of Amitābha’s Paradise in Plates X and XI.[74] For these a
series of concordant indications postulates a date distinctly older
than that of our earliest dated picture of A.D. 864.[75] A variety of
considerations lead me to believe that the date of those two paintings
and of our hanging as well cannot be later than the eighth century, but
may possibly be even somewhat earlier.[76]
In accessory details, too, a very close contact reveals itself between
the embroidery picture and the paintings shown in Plates X and XI,
proving that they belong to the same period and were probably produced
under the influence of the same pictorial school. In all three we see
the identical pair of graceful Apsaras figures, in an attitude not
found elsewhere among our paintings. In the dress of the Bodhisattvas
we may note as a common peculiarity the same brocade-like decoration
of the edges of the lower robes. Peculiar, too, to the three pictures
are the plain sage-green lotus seed-beds underfoot or as seats of the
divine figures. Whatever the exact date of production may be, there
seems little reason to doubt that the hanging must rank with the oldest
of our Ch‘ien-fo-tung paintings. The needlework is of the finest, as
Plate XXXV shows with particular clearness, and to this the picture
owes the striking freshness of its colour effects and the excellent
preservation of all parts that remain.
PLATE XXXVI
BHAIṢAJYAGURU’S PARADISE
The subject of the silk painting (Ch. liii. 002) reproduced here on
the scale of one-sixth is a Buddhist Heaven, and by evidence of the
side-scenes preserved on the right, which are identical with those of
the larger painting seen in Plates I and II, it can be recognized with
M. Petrucci as another representation of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s Paradise. The
reproduction in our Plate is too small to permit of close study of
details. But it suffices to convey an adequate impression of the style
and general arrangement which correspond closely to those of the larger
painting fully discussed above. For these reasons my comments may be
brief here.
Apart from the top and bottom portions and the side-scenes on the left,
which are lost, our painting is in excellent condition and retains
its colours in particular freshness. The colouring is rendered very
distinctive by the large proportion of black and blue. The drawing is
refined and the work well finished throughout.
In the centre we see the figure of the presiding Buddha in the same
pose and dress as seen in Plate II; his flesh here, too, is yellow
shaded with pink. The two enthroned Bodhisattvas on either side carry
here purple or scarlet lotus buds in the hands nearest him and hold
the others in the _vitarka-mudrā_. Immediately behind the central
Buddha are seen four haloed monkish disciples with close-cropped black
hair. The rest of the company on the main terrace is made up of twelve
smaller Bodhisattvas seated with their hands in mystic poses or holding
lotus buds, and two blue-haired nymphs kneeling in very graceful
attitudes by the altar and holding offerings.
In front of the altar is seen a richly dressed dancer performing on
a projecting terrace, attended by six musicians who are here of a
masculine type with long hair like that of Bodhisattvas. Below at the
sides remain in part the figures of two subsidiary Buddhas, probably
seated, with attendant Bodhisattvas and elaborate canopies, like those
shown above the enthroned figures in the centre. On the gangway leading
down from the dancer’s terrace stands a peacock, and below it appear
the heads of six of the Kings, probably twelve altogether, who were
represented in the centre.
The lake of the Paradise is seen here only on the top of the picture
about the piles supporting celestial mansions. These consist of a
high-roofed central pavilion and two open hexagonal shrines with pagoda
roofs. These are occupied each by a small seated Buddha and are joined
to the central building by curving gangways which slope down steeply to
the lake.
The marginal scenes on the right are drawn as always in purely Chinese
style and correspond to those in Plate I, the connexion of which with
the legend of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s last incarnation has already been touched
upon.[77]
PLATE XXXVII
BANNERS WITH SCENES FROM THE BUDDHA LEGEND
In my preliminary comments on Plate XII I have already had occasion to
discuss briefly the general characteristics of that interesting series
of silk banners which illustrate the legendary life of Gautama Buddha
and scenes closely connected with it.[78] This makes it possible to
restrict my remarks on the paintings reproduced in our Plate mainly to
the interpretation of the incidents and objects they are intended to
represent.
The two banners (Ch. lv. 009–10) shown on the sides of the Plate on the
scale of three-eighths form a pair exhibiting common characteristics
in all externals and undoubtedly painted by the same hand.[79] But
for the loss of all accessories and some damage to the top and bottom
scenes they are both excellently preserved. The drawing is notable for
its fine yet vigorous brush-strokes, the colours strong and clear. The
painter’s skill displays itself particularly in the landscapes of the
background, which convey a sense of great width and distance. Like
the figures, architecture, spacing, &c., of these banners they are
thoroughly Chinese in their treatment.
In the banner on the left (Ch. lv. 009) the topmost scene shows the
meeting of Gautama Buddha in a former birth with Dīpaṅkara Buddha. In
open country with mountains in the background the Buddha advances to
the right followed by two attendants in dress of the Bodhisattva type.
With his left hand he touches the head of the boy, the future Gautama,
who bows down before him with hands joined in adoration. The boy wears
a short deer-skin tunic and is bare-headed. The Buddha’s right hand is
lifted in the gesture of ‘Protection’.
The scene next below, chronologically out of order, represents the
first three of Prince Gautama’s famous ‘Four Encounters’ condensed,
as it were, into one. It shows with much realism the sick man on
his bedstead supported by an attendant, the old man being led by a
boy, and the putrified corpse. The first two of these ‘Encounters’
we have already met with in Plate XII. From the corpse there rises a
cloud carrying a small kneeling figure in Chinese secular dress with
belted coat and tailed cap. The figure is turned towards a palace-like
structure raised on clouds and representing an abode of the blessed.
That the figure of Gautama is absent from the scene may seem strange.
But the omission of the ascetic’s figure is less surprising. In
the fourth ‘Encounter’ of the legend he symbolizes the way of
salvation, and for Chinese eyes this may seem appropriately replaced
by the vision of a heavenly abode. The large paintings show us how
completely the hope of Sukhāvatī, the Buddhist Paradise, has effaced
the desire of Nirvāṇa in the minds of pious Chinese.
The succeeding scene represents the Bodhisattva’s miraculous Descent or
Conception as revealed to his mother in her dream. In a court of the
palace of Kapilavastu Queen Māyā is shown lying asleep upon a couch
placed within a projecting apartment. Its green rush-blinds are partly
rolled up. The infant Bodhisattva is seen kneeling with hands clasped
on the back of the traditional white elephant, which gallops towards
Māyā; two attendants kneel beside him. The whole group, enclosed within
a circular space, is carried on a cloud and thus clearly marked as a
vision.[80]
The bottom scene, which, unlike the rest, is not to be found among the
very numerous representations of Gautama’s Nativity in Graeco-Buddhist
sculpture, seems to show Māyā’s return to her father’s palace after
the dream.[81] Māyā, distinguished by a golden ornament on her head,
is seen walking with a woman attendant from the palace of Kapilavastu.
Both wear wide-sleeved over-jackets in which they muffle their hands.
In the companion banner (Ch. lv. 0010) on the right we see scenes which
continue the story of the Nativity in chronological sequence. The
top scene shows Māyā asleep in the same pavilion and pose as in the
‘Descent’ scene, but with three figures kneeling outside to the left
on a cloud and in adoring attitude. The interpretation is uncertain.
The succeeding scene, though also absent in the Gandhāra relievos, is
quite clear in its character. It presents to us Māyā on her way to the
Lumbinī garden. She is seated in a gaily coloured palanquin carried by
four bearers, whose rapid movement is excellently expressed. Two more
men carry trestles on which to set the palanquin down.
Immediately below we see the miraculous birth of Gautama Bodhisattva, a
familiar subject in Buddhist art of all times and regions. The child’s
issue from the mother’s right flank and her pose grasping a bough are
in close conformity with Indian tradition. But the ingenious use made
of Māyā’s wide-hanging sleeve discreetly to screen the act of birth
seems characteristically Chinese. The infant is springing downwards
where a woman attendant kneels to receive him on a cloth. A white lotus
appears where he is about to fall.
The ‘Nativity’ series is completed in the lowest panel by the famous
incident of the Seven Steps, with lotuses springing up beneath where
the Infant Bodhisattva has set his feet. To the right stands Māyā, with
her hands muffled in her long sleeves and her head turned back towards
the young child. To the left of him stands two women attendants with
bowed heads and hands raised in wonder or adoration. Enough of the
landscape remains to show that the scene was laid in the same grounds
as the preceding two. The Chinese inscription in the cartouche confirms
the interpretation.
The scene of the Seven Steps appears also at the bottom of the silk
banner (Ch. 00114), which is shown in the middle of the Plate reduced
to one-third of its size. It is painted in a more ornate style than
the other two, but lacks their sense of life and space. Here the child
steps forward with an air of difficulty but determination, the left arm
stretched upwards. Four ladies bend over him in surprise and adoration.
Behind to the left appear a fifth lady and a man wearing a belted
yellow robe and tailed cap. Their identity is doubtful.
The scene is preceded by the Bath of the Infant. The newly born
Bodhisattva stands in a golden laver, raised on a stand between two
palm-trees. Their tops are lost in a curling mass of black cloud, and
in this there appear, ranged archwise, the heads of the ‘nine Dragons
of the air’, gazing down on the infant with open mouths. A well-known
Buddhist tradition makes Nāgas or divinities of the thunder-clouds,
i.e. ‘Dragons’ in Chinese eyes, perform the laving of the New-born.
The descent of the water, which their mouths are supposed to pour
forth, is not actually represented here. Five women stand round, one
holding a towel.
The upper portion of the banner shows the Seven Jewels (_sapta
ratnāni_) associated in tradition with Gautama. According to ancient
Indian notions, the Seven Jewels, i.e. the best specimens of each
kind that appear during the reign, appertain to every _Cakravartin_,
or Universal Monarch, from his birth, and there is good reason to
believe that the Predestined One was credited with this character and
its attributes from an early date. We see them represented here in
two groups: in the upper one the wheel, emblem of sovereign rule; the
strong-box, symbolizing the jewel or treasure; the general and the
wife; in the lower one the minister, the elephant, and the horse. They
all stand on the curling white clouds, stylized in a peculiar fashion
and edged in red, blue, and green. Flaming jewels adorn the wheel, the
horse, and the elephant.
The general, clad in a coat of scale-armour and resembling a Lokapāla,
holds with his right hand a narrow oblong shield and in his left a
pennoned lance. The wife, Yaśodharā, is attired in a trailing skirt
and wide jacket with sleeves reaching to the ground. Her hair, as
usual with royal ladies represented in the Life scenes, is bound with
a gold fillet and done in two high loops rising up from the crown. The
minister’s dress is like hers, with a long terra-cotta band tied in a
bow hanging down the back. In the white horse, with red mane and tail,
we recognize, of course, Kaṇṭhaka, the Bodhisattva’s cherished steed, a
favourite figure in the Life scenes of our banners.
PLATE XXXVIII
BUDDHA TEJAḤPRABHA AND AVALOKITEŚVARA AS GUIDE OF SOULS
The two silk paintings reproduced in this Plate on the scale of
one-fourth, and originally mounted as Kakemonos, present special
interest on account of their subjects and treatment. The one above (Ch.
liv. 007), according to the Chinese inscription in the left-hand top
corner, dates from A. D. 897, and yet is painted in a style which, as
pointed out by Mr. Binyon,[82] looks distinctly earlier. It represents
the Buddha Tejaḥprabha (‘radiant with light’) on a chariot which two
bullocks draw, and surrounded by the genii of the five planets whom
the inscription mentions. The same subject appears to be treated also
in one of the finest of the wall-paintings of the Thousand Buddhas’
Caves.[83]
The Buddha is shown seated on a blue lotus which occupies the top of
an open two-wheeled car. A draped altar placed in front of him across
its shafts is decked with gilded vessels. Two elaborately decorated
flags float behind the car, hung from slanting poles. The Buddha, whose
figure alone in the picture shows distinct Indian convention, raises
his right hand in the _abhaya-mudrā_. His flesh was originally gilded
and his hair is shown blue. Rays of different colours radiate from his
person, replacing a halo. Overhead a rich canopy waving in his advance
symbolizes rapid movement. By the side of the trotting bullock strides
a dark-skinned attendant, recalling the ‘Indian’ leaders of Mañjuśrī’s
and Samantabhadra’s mounts, but carrying a mendicant’s staff instead
of a goad and playing a sistrum with his left hand, as clearly seen
in the original.
Of the genii represented two stand beyond the car dressed in Chinese
official costume with trailing under-robes and wide-sleeved jackets.
The one on the left carries a dish of flowers, and within the crown
of his black head-dress appears a white boar’s head. The other on
the right holds a brush and a tablet in his hands; between two loops
of his elaborate head-dress there rises the figure of a monkey. A
third, dressed all in white, plays upon a large lute with a very long
plectrum;[84] his head is surmounted by a phoenix. The figure of the
fourth divinity is of demonic type, four-armed, with fiery hair and
grotesque features. The right hands carry sword and arrow, and the left
hands a trident and bow; above his crown is seen a horse’s head.
With the comparative stiffness of the figures contrasts the freedom of
the whirling mass of cloud upon which the whole group is shown sweeping
past as in a vision. The colouring is strong, yet harmonious, and the
workmanship careful.
The picture below (Ch. lvii. 002), which is in excellent preservation
and still retained its original Kakemono mounting of brown silk, is a
noble composition strikingly different in style and entirely Chinese
in feeling. It shows the figure of Avalokiteśvara, as Guide of Souls,
drawn with much dignity and grace, and behind him an attendant soul
represented on a smaller scale in the guise of a Chinese woman.
The figure of Avalokiteśvara, who turns head and gaze backwards over
the left shoulder, is in physical features and dress a fine specimen
of the ‘Chinese’ Bodhisattva type already repeatedly noticed. In his
right hand he carries a smoking censer, in his left a curving lotus
spray and a waving white banner with triangular top and streamers, the
whole exactly alike in shape to the silk banners brought away from
Ch‘ien-fo-tung. In the dress of soft and harmoniously blended colours
the elaborate rosettes of the borders may be noted as manifestly
reproducing contemporary textile patterns.
The figure of the woman behind, with her head bowed and hands muffled
in wide sleeves at her breast, well expresses devout reliance on the
divine guide. Her attire, by the brilliant colouring of the robes
and the absence of the elaborate metal head-dress, stands out in
marked contrast to the costume familiar from the donor figures of our
tenth-century paintings. The purple cloud which carries both figures
sweeps up behind them to the top of the picture. There a Chinese
mansion resting on conventional cloud scrolls represents the Paradise
to which Avalokiteśvara leads his worshippers.
By the evidence of the dress and coiffure of the Bodhisattva’s
attendant, which seem to belong to post-T‘ang times, the painting
may be classed amongst the latest of the deposit. But what for our
appreciation of this beautiful picture must matter far more than this
chronological difference is the fact that the style of its design
and its refined execution give full and exclusive expression just to
those qualities which are characteristic of Chinese pictorial art at
its best. As Mr. Binyon, when comparing this picture with another
presentation of Avalokiteśvara, the one reproduced in our Plate XLII,
has pregnantly put it, ‘we have [here] a sense of suavity and flexile
movement. Flowers seem really to be floating down the air, and the
cloud on which the votaress follows the Bodhisattva coils up with a
wavering motion. We feel the presence of the Chinese genius, with its
instinct for living movement, and its love of sinuous line, and its
reticent spacing.’[85]
PLATE XXXIX
KṢITIGARBHA WITH THE INFERNAL JUDGES
The small picture (Ch. lxi. 009) reproduced here on half-scale
is remarkable for its peculiar colour scheme and for its archaic
appearance in composition and drawing. It represents Kṣitigarbha in his
combined character as Patron of Travellers, Regent of Hell, and Lord
of the Six Worlds of Desire. We have already above, when dealing with
the paintings reproduced in Plate XXV, had occasion to indicate briefly
the several functions which have made this Bodhisattva one of the most
popular figures in the Buddhist Pantheon of the Far East.[86] Our
observations here may, therefore, be restricted to particular features
of his presentation.
The picture is painted on indigo blue silk which, though much broken,
especially on the edges, yet retains the strong colours of the painting
in great freshness. Kṣitigarbha in stiff hieratic attitude is
seated on a red Padmāsana with his left leg resting on a small lotus
and the right bent across. With his right hand raised he grasps the
mendicant’s staff, while the left, palm uppermost, is held outwards
empty. Over an under-robe of yellow with vermilion border he carries a
maroon-bordered mantle of perished colour, while a traveller’s shawl of
maroon covers head and shoulders. Gilded diamonds sprinkle shawl and
borders. The face and breast are gilded, but the exposed portions of
the limbs are painted light red.
From the large circular halo in blue, vermilion, and white spread out
on either side three waving rays in the same colours, intended to bear
figures representative of the Six Worlds (_gati_) as seen in Plate XXV;
but these have not been drawn in. On either side of the Bodhisattva
stands an amply robed figure with hands in adoration. From the fashion
in which the hair of the figure on the left is done in two knobs it can
be recognized as a man, while the hair descending in a roll on the neck
of the other figure marks it as a woman. Whether the donor and his wife
are intended is not certain.
In slanting rows descending from Kṣitigarbha’s lotus seat the Ten
Infernal Judges are shown sitting on their heels, five on each
side. They wear magisterial robes with head-dresses of varying
shapes and carry narrow rolls of paper in their hands. Their faces,
drawn in three-quarter profile, show some endeavour at individual
characterization. Behind them on the right stand two men, with belted
coats and wide-brimmed hats, holding a small and a very large roll of
paper respectively. A third man, in a corresponding position on the
left, carries what appears to be a writing-brush.
In the foreground we see again, crouching, a white lion, of very
stylized form. A man’s figure, probably representing the soul of a
departed, stands in adoring pose at its head, while on the opposite
side another person with grotesque features raises his hands
imploringly towards Kṣitigarbha. Both as regards its archaic style of
design and its peculiar hard colouring the picture has no pendant in
our collection. But, as Mr. Binyon has justly observed, it remains
at present uncertain ‘whether the primitive features may not be due
to provincial style preserving old tradition rather than to actual
antiquity’.[87]
PLATE XL
KṢITIGARBHA AS PATRON OF TRAVELLERS
The painting (Ch. 0084) reproduced here on half the scale of the
original also represents Kṣitigarbha, like the one in the preceding
Plate, but shows striking differences of style in composition, drawing,
and colouring. Simplicity of design, delicacy of line, and harmonious
quiet of colours all combine to give to this picture a singular charm
of its own, admirably expressive of serene beatitude. It is painted
on pale green silk and, except where it is broken at the bottom, well
preserved along with its border of greenish-blue silk.
We see the Bodhisattva seated cross-legged on an open lotus with
gracefully pointed red petals. His face, round and youthful, bears an
expression of benignant mildness. The eyes, long and straight, are cast
slightly downwards. The right hand holds the mendicant’s staff and the
left, resting on the knee, a flaming ball of crystal. He is dressed in
a yellowish under-robe, apparently lined with pink, and a light green
mantle which is barred and bordered with black. Head and shoulders are
draped in a shawl of Indian red ornamented with a faint spot pattern in
yellow.
The nimbus and circular halo are ornamented with elaborate ray and
floral patterns in red and green and edged with flames. A broad band
of white surrounds the whole figure and lifts it out of the green
background. In the corners of this are seen floating sprays with red
flowers.
Below in the left corner there remains the upper portion of the
kneeling donor, recognizable as a boy by his features and the way in
which his hair is dressed. In his joined hands he holds a lotus flower.
His loose-sleeved red coat is sprinkled with a circular flower pattern
in yellow and black. Red flowers on tall stems rise on either side
of him. The cartouche to the right is left blank, and so, too, the
remainder of the space probably intended for a dedicatory inscription.
PLATE XLI
AVALOKITEŚVARA AND TWO OTHER BODHISATTVAS
The three pictures which this Plate shows, reduced to one-half of the
original in the case of the two on the sides and to three-eighths
in that of the middle one, are characteristic specimens of those
Bodhisattva banners on silk which are very frequent among our Tun-huang
paintings.[88]
The banner in the middle (Ch. i. 0013) is completely preserved with its
head-piece, streamers, and other accessories, and its painted portion,
which alone is reproduced here, retains its colours in excellent
condition. Its subject is easily recognized as Avalokiteśvara by the
flask and the red lotus bud which he carries in his right and left hand
respectively. The Bodhisattva’s figure is shown sweeping to the left
with trailing draperies and the head slightly bent, gazing down at the
lotus.
In features, dress, and general style of work it shares the
characteristics of the ‘Chinese’ Bodhisattva type repeatedly referred
to before; but the hollowed back gives a particularly graceful curve to
the whole figure. Its special slimness and the wide semicircular line
showing the setting of the eyes also deserve notice. The modelling of
the flesh by pink shading is well marked. The parted mouth, showing
white teeth, is unusual. The colours are very bright, and as the paint
is applied very thickly, the opaque white of the girdle and streamers
contrasts rather harshly with the strong blue of the stole.
The silk banner on the left (Ch. xxiv. 006) is also in excellent
preservation, except for the lost accessories. The Bodhisattva who
stands on a bluish-green lotus with hands in adoration remains in the
absence of any particular indications unidentified. Figure, attire, and
adornment conform to the ‘Chinese’ type of Bodhisattvas; but the skirt
gathered up in front and showing bare legs is not usual. The colour
scheme is rich but harmonious and the workmanship in general faultless,
though confined to the familiar conventions of the type.
It is different with the fine Bodhisattva of the banner (Ch. i. 002)
seen on the right. His figure is one of the most striking represented
in the banners, remarkable for the skilful pose combining dignity
with rapid movement, for the graceful sinuous lines of body and
garments, and the pronounced and distinctly non-Chinese features of
the Bodhisattva’s face. In view of a figure so distinctive and well
defined, it is a matter of regret that there is no clue at present to
its iconographic identity.
The Bodhisattva is seen walking away to the left, presenting a
three-fourths back-view, with the head in profile over the left
shoulder. With the left hand he gathers up the folds of the gracefully
coiling stole, while the right, bent back at shoulder level, carries
a pink lotus bud on the palm. The erect carriage of the body and its
movement with the weight thrown forward on the right foot are admirably
expressed. The canopy overhead, with its freely swinging tassels and
bells, emphasizes the rapid movement which is suggested also by the
feet being placed on two separate lotuses. The nimbus shown merely in
outline as an elliptical black ring allows the back of the head and
coiffure to be seen through.
The falling loops of the stole and the drapery tied in a knot at the
neck hide details of the upper portion of the dress. But below it the
waving folds of the glowing scarlet skirt are very skilfully rendered.
A close-fitting cap of red, set with gold ornaments, covers the
head, and from it projects at the back a large richly decorated gold
ring apparently holding a tress of hair.
Special interest attaches to the Bodhisattva’s face. Distinctly
non-Chinese features are the long and prominent nose, the marked
depression below the low sloping forehead, the long and straight eye.
The head is equally far removed from the classical type which Gandhāra
art propagated. A curious scornful expression is imparted to the face
by the eyelid drawn in a straight line across the half-closed eye
and by the pouting mouth. Its strangely foreign look remains doubly
puzzling where everything else bears so clearly the impress of Chinese
workmanship.
PLATE XLII
AVALOKITEŚVARA, THOUSAND-ARMED, WITH ATTENDANT DIVINITIES
The large silk painting (Ch. xxviii. 006) reproduced in this Plate
on the much-reduced scale of one-sixth is a fine illustration of
that intermingling of art influences for which Tun-huang provided
a classical meeting-place. It shows Avalokiteśvara with a thousand
arms seated within a central disc, and outside this some attendant
divinities symmetrically grouped. The scheme is thus closely akin to
that of the Avalokiteśvara ‘Maṇḍala’ seen in Plate XVII and fully
discussed above. But the number of divinities is much smaller and the
composition in general less elaborate, though there is abundance of
ornament in the details. The painting is complete except along its
bottom, and its colours are remarkably fresh. The rich painted border
of flower sprays which encloses the whole suggests the effect of
naturalistic embroidery such as is found among the textile relics from
the Thousand Buddhas.[89]
Avalokiteśvara’s figure single-headed appears here too, seated within
a large circular halo formed by his ‘thousand arms’, each showing the
symbolic open eye on the palm. Against this background are numerous
inner arms, all except four in the centre line of the figure carrying
a multiplicity of sacred emblems well known to Buddhist iconography,
such as the discs of the Sun and Moon, trident, Vajra, &c. Owing to
the excellent finish, the details of all these, as well as of the rich
ornaments which deck the Bodhisattva’s body and head, can be made out
clearly. In front of the high tiara appears the figure of Amitābha, his
Dhyāni-buddha. The Bodhisattva’s flesh is shown dull yellow shaded with
pink.
The nimbus is made up of a superimposed series of pointed rays
brilliantly coloured. It is flame-edged like the border of the
circular halo behind. The variegated petals of the lotus seat have
also brilliant colours; gilding is used for their outlines as well as
for all jewellery, the vessels on the altar in front, and the folds of
Avalokiteśvara’s robes.
The background is divided into an upper and lower half. The upper,
painted a thin light blue (now almost gone) and representing the sky,
is sprinkled with small gilded stars and falling blossoms. In its top
corners, to the right and left respectively, are shown the Bodhisattvas
of the Sun and the Moon seated on their respective ‘Vāhanas’ of horses
and geese, within red and white discs which piled-up clouds carry.
Against the lower half of the background, painted a deep blue and
representing a tiled floor, are the haloed figures of the ‘Sage’ and
the ‘Nymph of Virtue’, kneeling on lotuses to the right and left
respectively. The former, an emaciated old man of ascetic type, yet
wearing rich apparel, raises his right hand in salutation, and the
‘Nymph’ carries her dish of flowers, as also in Plate XVII. In the tank
below we see again two armour-clad Nāgas holding up Avalokiteśvara’s
disc. In front of the tank is an altar decked with draperies of
exquisitely rendered floral designs and carrying gilt sacrificial
vessels.
In the bottom corners stride in violent movement many-armed demonic
Vajrapāṇis in red and blue against a vividly painted background of
flames. With their fiery hair and grotesque features, and by the
Tantric emblems they brandish in their hands, they show closest kinship
to the monstrous divinities of Tantric origin in which the imagery of
Tibetan Buddhism delights. Below them there kneel in adoration two
small figures, one with an elephant’s head on the left and another with
that of a rat on the right. In these we may, perhaps, recognize Gaṇeśa,
familiar to Hindu mythology, and the ‘king of the sacred rats famous in
Khotan local worship.[90]
In these figures and in a variety of other details to which Mr. Binyon
has very justly called attention,[91] we have striking indications
of that mixed style of painting to which Indian prototypes, Iranian
and Central-Asian influences, and Tibetan taste have all contributed
elements, albeit in very disparate proportions. Yet it does not
need the Chinese inscriptions, found in a few of the cartouches and
containing epithets of the respective divinities, to convince us that
we owe this highly finished painting to Chinese workmanship. This
has left its marks clearly in a mass of exquisite detail and in that
perfectly mastered technique which accounts for the strong decorative
effect of the whole.
PLATE XLIII
AVALOKITEŚVARA WITH LOKAPĀLA ATTENDANTS
The silk painting reproduced here with a reduction to one-third of the
original (Ch. 00121) is a particularly fine example of Indian tradition
preserved in Chinese Buddhist painting. The picture, damaged at the
top and still more at its bottom, shows us Avalokiteśvara seated on
a flat Padmāsana in the pose of ‘royal ease’. The shapely right hand
hangs open over the raised right knee, while the left hand, now lost,
evidently rested on the other knee and held the long spray of purple
lotus which rises beside the head.
The figure of the Bodhisattva is presented in accordance with Indian
iconographic canons. But the ease and distinction of the drawing,
which the simplicity of the figure and the scarcity of colour make
all the more noticeable, betoken the Chinese artist’s brush. The
slender-waisted body leans towards the left shoulder; the limbs are
long and slim; the head erect. The face is young and clean-shaven
with an expression of serenity in the downcast slightly oblique eyes
and the finely curved lips. The hair rises in a high cone above
the three-leaved tiara, the front of which shows Avalokiteśvara’s
Dhyāni-buddha, Amitābha. The flesh is left uncoloured.
The dress is confined to a short crimson laṅgōṭī wrapped about the
loins, a thin transparent skirt hanging about the legs, and a narrow
scarf entwined on the breast. The jewellery is of the type usual in
‘Indian’ Bodhisattvas, but plain. The elliptical nimbus and circular
halo behind the figure are painted in pale blue and green. In the
background are shown feathery floral sprays of a type common in printed
silk fabrics from the Ch‘ien-fo-tung hoard.
In the top corners appear the small figures of two Lokapālas in mail
armour, Vaiśravaṇa on the right and Virūpākṣa on the left, both seated
on rocks. Corresponding figures of the other two Guardians of the
Regions, no doubt, occupied the lost bottom corners.
PLATE XLIV
FRAGMENT OF STANDING AVALOKITEŚVARA
This Plate shows the remaining upper portion of a large silk painting
(Ch. 00451, scale one-third) which represented Avalokiteśvara standing
without attendants. Considerably broken as the painting is and injured
in its surface, we recognize in it a fine pendant to the Avalokiteśvara
picture reproduced in Plate XXI. Here, too, we see a figure of the
conventional ‘Indian’ Bodhisattva type imbued with that grace and
refined quality which Chinese mastery of fluid line and reposeful
design is specially able to impart.
The physical type and the pose of the body, with its inclination to
the left shoulder, closely correspond to those seen in Plate XXI. But
here this line is counterbalanced by the pose of the head, which leans
gently over the right shoulder. The eyes are turned back to the left
proper and look down with an expression of mildness and compassion.
They are almost straight, and the recurving line added to the eyelids
is here absent. Of the willow spray in the right hand only a few faint
indications remain.
The dress, jewellery, and colouring agree closely with those displayed
by the figure in Plate XXI. But more remains here of the white shaded
with pink which is used for the colouring of the body. The nimbus
is made up of plain circular rings of dark olive, red, and white.
The Chinese inscription of the cartouche to the right still awaits
interpretation.
PLATE XLV
VAIŚRAVAṆA CROSSING THE OCEAN
The small Kakemono-shaped picture on silk (Ch. 0018) which this Plate
shows with a reduction to two-thirds of its size is one of the most
finished of our Tun-huang paintings. It presents Vaiśravaṇa, the
Guardian-king of the North, as he advances on a cloud across the
heaving sea, with an imposing suite of attendants, some human, some
demonic, but all of them in striking attires. The painting was found
in excellent preservation, still retaining its border of purple silk
(omitted in the reproduction), and thus it is fortunately possible
to appreciate in all details the high artistic merit of a work which
clearly is from the brush of a master.
When dealing above with another presentation of Vaiśravaṇa’s Progress,
the painting shown by Plate XXVI, we have already had occasion to
refer to the special importance which the Protector of the Northern
Region claims as chief among Lokapālas, and also to the reasons
accounting for the popularity of his worship in Central Asia and the
Far East. Hence we may turn here at once to the varied points of
iconographic interest presented by our picture. The main figure of
Vaiśravaṇa, disproportionately large in accordance with a convention
familiar already to Graeco-Buddhist as well as to late Hellenistic art,
strides ahead to the right, carrying the halberd, his characteristic
emblem, in the right hand, and on a cloud rising from his left a small
pagoda-shaped shrine, a secondary attribute, also otherwise attested.
His face is heavy but not grotesque, with large oblique eyes and heavy
eyebrows. The middle of the body is thrown out, giving to the pose an
air of ponderous dignity.
His dress is that of a warrior king, as proper to all Lokapālas, but
of a particularly elaborate type. His coat of mail reaches down almost
to the knees. The arrangement of the scales, shown by a diaper of
three-armed crosses, is the same peculiar one already noted in
Plate XXVI. It appears also on the corslet, which is edged by bands
of lacquered plate, while the forearm guards and what is visible of
the greaves show oblong scales secured by transverse bands. The whole
armour is gilded. Decorated flaps, probably of shaped leather, descend
over the hips and are joined in front by a stomacher in the shape of a
hawk or eagle mask. The shoulder-pieces end in a lion head, through the
jaws of which the arm passes. Gilded shoes cover the feet.
The high three-leaved crown on Vaiśravaṇa’s head, with the wing-shaped
ornament at the top and the white streamers flying up at the sides,
unmistakably recalls the royal head-dress of Sassanian times.[92] The
flames rising from his shoulders are an emblem also likely to have
an Iranian origin.[93] Their flickering tongues, like the fluttering
streamers and the freely floating stole, emphasize the Guardian-king’s
rapid movement.
The same curling maroon cloud on which Vaiśravaṇa advances carries
also his retinue of varied aspects. Before him to the right we see the
graceful figure of a nymph bowing and presenting a dish of flowers.
Her identity is uncertain; in form and attire she resembles the ‘Nymph
of Virtue’ we have already met in the paintings of the Thousand-armed
Avalokiteśvara.[94] Of her rich attire may be specially noted the
wide sleeves which almost sweep the ground, the acanthus-like leaves
covering her shoulders, and the wreaths thrown over her arms.
The _cortège_ behind the Lokapāla consists partly of demons, evidently
representing the Yakṣas over whom he rules, and partly of figures
purely human, which are clearly individualized but still await definite
identification. Of the former, two in the background have the heads
of monsters, with fiery hair and tusked jaws. One of them carries
Vaiśravaṇa’s flag of the same elaborate design we have noted in Plate
XXVI. Another demon in front of the pair, with brown skin, hairy arms,
and animal-like head wrapped in a scarlet hood, carries a large round
jar covered at its mouth. A fourth in the foreground, with ferocious
animal head and long upstanding hair, carries a club and wears a
Lokapāla’s armour over a richly embroidered scarlet coat.
Among the human attendants the most striking figure is that of a finely
drawn aged man. He is clad only in a white skirt, with a scarf across
the breast. His hair is tied in a topknot and is white, like his
eyebrows and beard, all painted with minute care. His sunken features
and the sidelong glance of his eyes are expressively rendered. In his
right hand he carries a gilded cup (or Vajra?). Behind him we see a
portly male figure with placid clean-shaven face and a high mitre-like
head-dress from which drapery falls behind on the neck. He wears a
green robe over what looks like a coat brocaded in a ‘Sassanian’
pattern and carries a flaming jewel on a gilded stand.
In the rear is a bearded muscular archer, preparing to shoot at a
bat-like demon in the sky high up to the right. In the latter we can
safely recognize a Garuḍa, the hunting of whom is a frequent motif
in Turkestān frescoes, and whose winged figure is well known to
Graeco-Buddhist sculpture also.[95] The drawing of the archer’s figure
as he bends down to fit the arrow to the bow, while his gaze follows
the flying Garuḍa, is remarkably firm and vigorous. On his head he
carries a high conical cap of white, with metal boss at the top and
wide upstanding brim. His dress comprises a blue tunic which leaves
the right arm and breast bare, white breeches, and black top-boots.
His purposeful figure in movement is cleverly set off by the serene
appearance of a man standing in front with hands folded in adoration.
He wears a full-sleeved maroon jacket over a flowing white under-robe
and over his smooth black hair a gilded tiara of peculiar shape.
The special powers of Chinese pictorial art pervading the whole
picture manifest themselves with particular clearness in the masterly
spacing of the background. This shows the greenish-brown sea heaving
in majestically rolling ridges of white-crested waves. Far away
in admirably conveyed distance rises a range of blue and green
mountains, probably meant to represent the fabulous Mount Meru
where Buddhist mythology locates the Guardian-kings of the Regions.
Wherever the eye falls in this small but exquisite picture we may
appreciate the sure drawing with its cleanness of touch, the harmonious
colouring, and the highly finished workmanship. But it is in this
background that we can realize best to what extent the artist shared
that understanding of the Chinese genius for the control of ordered
fluent line and the power of suggestion in spacing.
PLATE XLVI
FRAGMENT WITH CHILD ON DEMON’S HAND
The fragment of a large paper painting (Ch. 00373) reproduced here on
the scale of three-fourths is of interest as it represents somewhat
rare details in skilful execution, and also on account of its unusual
technique. The picture, of which another fragment survives, has been
drawn upon a fine ground laid over smooth buff paper. The colours
delicately painted over this are bright and particularly pleasing by
their softness, and I regret that their reproduction had to be forgone.
The execution is more finished than that of any of the other paper
paintings from Ch‘ien-fo-tung. Of the subject of the whole painting
it is impossible to say more than that it probably represented the
‘Maṇḍala’ of a Buddha or Bodhisattva.
Our fragment shows on the left, against a background of large-leaved
flowering trees, a demon of dark blue body and limbs holding up with
his hands a naked infant who leans towards him smiling and with arms
stretched out. The infant’s form and features are exquisitely drawn
with fluent lines expressive of baby-like plumpness and shaded in pink
and white. He has black hair and a red trefoil mark on his forehead.
The reddish-pink face of the demon bears a cleverly conveyed tender
expression, which contrasts with his fierce features and shock of red
and green hair. We have already met with the figure of a similar demon
holding an infant in the group attending the Bodhisattvas on the right
in Bhaiṣajyaguru’s Paradise as shown by Plate I, and another is found
among Vaiśravaṇa’s attendants in a woodcut from Ch‘ien-fo-tung.[96]
On the right is seen a many-tiered umbrella hung with streamers and
tasselled chains, as found often over the chief Bodhisattvas in large
Paradise paintings (see Plate I). In the middle of the bottom portion
of the fragment appears the upper part of the halo, topknot, and tiara
of a Bodhisattva. Above the central ornament of the tiara is seen the
head of a white stag with antlers painted in silver.
PLATE XLVII
THREE LOKAPĀLA BANNERS
The three silk banners which this Plate reproduces on the scale of
one-third all depict Virūpākṣa, the Guardian-king of the West and,
after Vaiśravaṇa, the most popular of the Lokapālas. When describing
above his fine picture as seen in Plate XXVII, I have already had
occasion briefly to indicate the iconographic features which are common
to all our Lokapāla representations, and to touch also upon those minor
characteristics which allow us to distinguish certain groups among our
numerous banners of these divinities.[97] Hence my account of those
shown in our Plate may be restricted to individual points deserving of
notice.
In the banner on the left (Ch. lv. 0020), which is well preserved
except at the top where the painting has broken and been attached
to the head-piece (not shown) by a patch of purple silk, we see a
good example of the Lokapāla type designated above as ‘Chinese’.
Virūpākṣa stands with his feet planted on the back and head of his
crouching demon cognizance and holding the drawn sword upright in his
left hand.[98] His face is middle-aged and serious, the oblique eyes
slightly enlarged, and the iris painted a dark yellow. His coat of
mail shows oblong scales all through from the shoulders to the skirt
portion. The flesh is shaded light pink over the brownish white of the
silk. The corslet is secured by broad shoulder-straps, probably of
lacquer, here clearly marked. Beneath the hip-belt appear an apron and
hip-flaps of shaped leather, providing additional protection. Round
the lower edge of the belt hang loose rings, probably meant for the
attachment of the scabbard and other equipment. The breeches are tucked
into greaves, and the feet shod with plain sandals. The general colour
effect is subdued owing to the prevalence of light brown and pale red
tints.
The painting in the middle (Ch. lv. 0046) is broken at the top and has
lost its banner accessories, but retains its colours in remarkable
freshness. Virūpākṣa, turning slightly to the left, stands with his
feet on the shoulder and knee of a squatting demon. He holds before him
with both hands a long sword in a lacquered scabbard, whose point rests
on the demon’s head. His face, large-cheeked and with strong chin,
bears a pleasant expression. The oblique eyes with light iris gaze
upwards.
The coat of mail painted yellow and red shows round-edged scales
overlapping downwards as far as the hip-belt, while the skirt portion
has oblong scales apparently overlapping upwards. Trefoil-shaped flaps
of green leather give additional protection to the hips and abdomen.
A sausage-shaped collar is fastened round the neck and over a brown
mantle. Solid guards of lacquered leather protect both upper and fore
arms. The legs are clad only in breeches tied below the knees and
hanging loose to the ankles. The shoes of woven string are of some
interest, as their make exactly corresponds to that of shoes brought
to light by me from ruins of Han and later times.[99] The elaborately
jewelled head-dress is fitted with a red ‘cock’s crest’ at the back,
and the halo behind is flame-edged.
The Chinese inscription describes the Lokapāla correctly as Virūpākṣa,
‘celestial king of the Western Region’. The work is carefully finished
throughout, and the colours harmonious, though more opaque than usual
in these banners.
The banner (Ch. 0010), of which the painted portion is reproduced
on the right, is complete and excellently preserved. Virūpākṣa’s
figure combines here characteristics of that Lokapāla type which may
conveniently be called ‘Central-Asian’ with a treatment and certain
details not unlike those in the ‘Chinese’ type.
The Lokapāla stands facing the spectator on the head and knee of a
contorted demon. His right foot is placed on a higher level than the
other, and the weight of the body thrown on the left hip. The right
hand holds the naked sword aslant across the body and the left supports
it at the breast. The face is heavy and with the frowning forehead,
the snarling mouth, and glaring eyes bears a fiercer expression than
usual. The large round eyes are level and the iris green. The hair,
shown light blue, is bunched back behind the ears. The flesh is painted
a pinkish red with but little shading.
The coat of mail from shoulders to skirt is uniformly made up of
round-edged scales overlapping downwards; but their colouring varies
in different parts. A jerkin of blue leather elaborately ornamented
with metal-work appears above and below the mail corslet. The forearms
are swathed in red draperies, which also show above the knees. The
white leg-coverings are tucked into greaves which display elaborately
scrolled metal-work, manifestly painted in with an eye mainly to
decorative effect. Similar metal-work is shown on the black shoes.
The yellowish-brown colour of this metal-work, suggestive of bronze,
is applied also to the solid metal tiara, with wing ornaments and high
crown, which forms the head-dress.
Though the drawing is careful and the colours clear and fresh, much
is lost in general effect through excessive concentration on detail
and ornament. In the want of space and free line and in the resulting
lack of spontaneity we are made to feel, as it were, the influence of
non-Chinese models.
PLATE XLVIII
FRAGMENT WITH FIGURE OF DEMONIC WARRIOR
This fine fragment of a large silk painting (Ch. 0098), reduced here
to three-fourths of the original, shows the head and upper part of
the body of a figure demonic in look and of violent pose. No definite
identification seems at present possible. If the trident-like weapon
lifted up in the left hand might suggest a Lokapāla, there are to be
noted against this the flames streaming back from the head and the
total absence of armour. Again, if the ferocious look and pose would
make us think of a Vajrapāṇi Dharmapāla, other difficulties arise
from the unusual weapon, the fiery hair, and the want of exaggerated
muscles. So it will be best to leave this fine figure unnamed and to
rest content with an appreciation of its artistic merit.
The head, well preserved on the whole, shows a face demonic in features
and convulsed with rage. It is painted dark grey with red lips and
black hair. The eyes are distended and glaring in fury, the eyebrows
contracted, and the forehead bowed with wrinkles. The widely grinning
mouth shows the tongue and both rows of teeth. Excessively high
cheekbones and nose, bushy eyebrows, a moustache sweeping fiercely
upwards, and stiff spreading beard and whiskers add their quota to the
terrifying appearance of the head. The hair on the forehead passes
black under a jewelled tiara; but what streams up from the whole head
is a cone of red flame.
From the rest of the fragment all paint is lost. The outline drawing,
however, remains of a body vigorous and muscular. But for jewelled
chains, necklace, &c., it is nude to the hip-belt, over which appears
pulled the edge of a skirt-like garment. A stole is gathered over the
right upper arm, and the right hand is held before the breast, with
fingers stiffly upturned and palm downwards. The left arm is lost,
but the hand appears above grasping the staff of a weapon with barbed
points.
The whole figure is drawn with admirable verve and freedom. Fragmentary
as it is, it allows us to surmise what we have lost here of a work of
true Chinese genius—and at the same time to realize what we owe to the
safe hiding-place the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas have provided for
so many other relics of art.
INDEX
_ahhaya-mudrā_, 25, 27, 32, 51, 53.
acanthus leaves, 60.
Ajaṇṭā, frescoes of, 3, 8.
Ajātaśatru, legend of, 44.
Ākāśagarbha, 16, 17.
altar, valance of, 18.
Amitābha, Buddha, 4, 5, 11;
Western Paradise of, 5, 6, 11, 17, 18, 20, 21 sq., 44, 52;
triad of, 18.
Ānanda, legend of, 49.
Andrews, Mr. F. H., xii, 44.
Antioch, 4.
Apsaras, 12, 20, 22, 49;
_see_ Gandharvī.
Asuras, World of, 38.
Athene, on seal, 4.
Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva of Mercy (Kuan-yin; Kwan-non), 4, 13,
18, 20, 22, 27, 28, 49, 56, 58, 59;
guide of souls, 53;
six-armed, 35;
thousand-armed, 30, 57;
emblems of, 30, 57;
four forms of, 29;
male and female forms of, 4;
Maṇḍala of, 13, 30, 31;
paintings of, 6;
under willows, 36;
with willow spray, 31, 32;
worship of, 4.
Badakhshī breed of horses, 20.
banners,
on silk, 2, 23, 25, 40, 43, 51, 53, 56, 61;
groups of, 23;
on linen, 3.
Barnett, Dr. L. D., 47.
Bath, of Gautama, 52.
Benares, Deer Park of, 24.
Bhaiṣajyaguru, Buddha, Paradise of, 11 sqq., 14, 50.
Bhaiṣajyarāja, 5.
_bhūmisparśa-mudrā_, 27.
Bimbisāra, 44.
Binyon, Mr. L., ix, xi, xii, 13, 36, 37, 45, 53, 54, 55, 58.
boar, head of, 53.
boar-headed demon, 31.
Bōdh-Gayā, image at, 27.
Bodhisattvas, 4 sq., 11 sqq., and _passim_;
banners of, 56;
‘Indian’ and ‘Chinese’ types of, 14, 29, 56;
worship of, 28;
_see_ Avalokiteśvara, Kṣitigarbha, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra.
borders, of paintings, 2, 53, 55, 59.
Brahman, 12, 30.
British Museum,
paintings at, ix, xi;
Trustees of, xi.
Buddha, _see_ Gautama, Śākyamuni.
Buddhas, 4;
subsidiary, 13, 17;
‘of ten quarters’, 30.
Buddhism, spread of, into Central Asia and China, 3 sq., 7;
_see_ Mahāyāna.
Buddhist art, of China, 3, 6;
of India, 3 sq.;
of Japan, 4 sq.;
of Tibet, 9.
Buddhist Heaven, _see_ Paradise.
Buddhist images, from India, 6.
bullocks, 53.
_Butsu-yé_ 3.
_Cakravartin_, 53.
cangue, 35, 38.
cartouches,
inscribed, 23, 26, 29, 32, 49, 52, 58, 59;
uninscribed, 36, 38.
castanets, 12.
‘Caves of the Thousand Buddhas’, 1, 13, and _passim_.
celestial mansions, 11, 17, 18, 51, 54.
chain-armour, 42.
Chamberlain, the Right Hon. Mr. A., xi.
Chandaka, 24.
Chavannes, M. Éd., x, 16, 19.
_Ch‘ien-fo-tung_, Chinese for ‘Caves of Thousand Buddhas’, _passim_.
China, westward expansion of, 4.
Chinese art, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Chinese painting,
Buddha legend in, 8;
Central tradition of, 5;
style of, 54.
‘Chinese’ type of Bodhisattvas, 29, 32, 36, 43, 54, 56.
Christians, at Turfān, 5.
chronology, of paintings, 7, 16, 21, 50.
clappers, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 25, 36.
Clarendon Press, Delegates of, xi.
cleaning, of paintings, 2.
cloud scrolls, in textiles, 36.
coiffure, of donatrices, 16, 17, 19, 30, 38;
_see_ head-dress.
coins, Chinese, 48.
Conception, of Gautama, 52.
costume,
of donatrices, 16, 21, 22, 30, 50;
of donors, 17, 22, 36, 37, 38, 50, 56.
crane, 12, 18, 22.
crown, of Sassanian type, 39, 60.
dancer, 12, 15, 17, 18, 51.
Deer Park, Śākyamuni in, 27.
Delhi Museum, xi.
demons, 12, 15, 40 sq., 61, 62, 63;
Tibetan, 47;
World of, 38;
_see_ Yakṣas.
Dharmapālas, 43, 63.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, 42.
Dhyāni-buddha (Amitābha), 4, 20, 28, 29, 32, 35, 57, 58.
Dīpaṅkara, Buddha, 51.
disciples, figures of, 17, 19, 21.
discs, of Sun and Moon, 17, 38.
distemper, painting in, 9, 46.
donors, in paintings, 7;
_see_ costume, portraits.
dragons, 12, 19, 48, 52.
drapery, Hellenistic, 20.
dress, _see_ costume;
magisterial, 19, 24, 44, 37, 55.
drums, 12, 45.
ducks, 22;
wild, 25.
embroidery picture, 10, 48;
remains, 44.
fan-bearers, 37.
First Sermon, _see_ Gautama.
flame streamers, 39, 60.
flask, of Avalokiteśvara, 36, and _passim_.
flutes, 12, 14, 18, 36, 45.
Foucher, M. A., 23, 27, 28, 31, 43.
‘Four Encounters’, _see_ Gautama.
Freer Collection, 7, 8.
Fu-hsi, Emperor, 48.
fungus sceptre, 38.
Gandhāra, Buddhist art of, 3, 4, 7, 49;
types from, 8.
Gandharvīs, 14;
_see_ Apsaras.
Gaṇeśa, 58.
Garuḍa, 12, 16, 17, 18, 60.
_Gatis_, _see_ Worlds of Desire.
Gautama (Buddha, Śākyamuni),
scenes from Life of, 5, 6, 25, 51;
Chinese treatment of, 7, 23;
Conception of, 52;
Birth of, 52;
Bath of, 52;
Seven Steps of, 52;
Four Encounters of, 23 sq., 51;
Search for, 24;
Farewell from Kaṇṭhaka, 24;
Enlightenment of, 27;
First Sermon of, 24, 27;
as teacher, 6;
Miracle of Śrāvastī, 27;
on Gṛdhrakūṭa, 25, 27, 48, 49;
_see_ Buddha, Jātakas, Śākyamuni.
Giles, Dr. L., xii.
glass bowl, 43.
Graeco-Buddhist art, x, 12, 15, 20, 23, 26, 27, 28, 52, 59, 60.
Gṛdhrakūṭa, _see_ Vulture Peak.
gryphon, 12.
Guardians of Regions, _see_ Lokapālas.
halo,
flame-bordered, 15;
transparent, 21, 22.
hands, pair of colossal, 26.
Hāritī, 31.
harp, 12, 16, 45.
hats, shape of, 17.
head-dress, of donors, 19, 23, 30, 32;
_see_ coiffure.
Hell, Kṣitigarbha Regent of, 37, 54.
Hellenistic art, influence of, 4, 20, 59.
Heracles, on seal, 4.
hermit, picture of, 47.
Herzfeld, Prof. E., 40.
high lights, 9, 21, 22.
hills, 14, 17, 19.
Hīnayāna Buddhism, 4.
Hindu mythology, 31.
Horiuji Temple, 3.
horse,
drawing of, 19;
types of, 20, 25, 39.
horse’s head, 54.
horse-dragon, 47.
‘horse-millinery’, 20, 39.
Hsüan-tsang, pilgrim, 6, 27.
human form, Chinese treatment of, 7.
iconography, Buddhist, x.
India, Buddhist painting in, 3.
Indian art, genius of, 8.
Indian garb, of divinities, 7.
Indian type, of Bodhisattvas, 28, 29, 36, 42, 47, 59.
Indians, dark-skinned, 14, 15, 29, 53.
Indra, 12, 30.
infants, 12, 16, 22, 36, 61.
Infernal Judges, 37, 38, 55.
Iranian,
art motifs, 4;
influences, 58;
emblems, 39, 60;
_see_ Persia.
iris of eyes,
blue, 39;
yellow, 62;
green, 62.
Japan,
Buddhist art of, 5;
Buddhist paintings of, 3.
Jātakas, scenes from, 5, 6, 8, 23;
_see_ Gautama.
Jizō (Kṣitigarbha), 37.
Kābul, 27.
Kakemonos, paintings mounted as, 2, 39, 53, 59.
Kālika, 47.
Kalyāṇaṃkara, legend of, 16, 17.
Kaṇṭhaka, Buddha’s horse, 23, 24, 53.
Kapilavastu, 52.
Kapiśa (Kabul), 27.
Kāshgar, 1.
Kashmir, 1, 4.
Kāśyapa, 49.
Khotan, 1, 4;
mural paintings of, 28;
painter from, 10;
Vaiśravaṇa’s worship at, 39.
Kings, Twelve, protectors of the Law, 13, 51.
knee-caps, 35.
Kṣitigarbha,
in paintings, 5, 8, 16, 17, 37;
patron of travellers, 38, 54, 55;
Regent of Hell, 37, 54.
Ku K‘ai-chih,
painter, 6, 7;
style of, 8.
Kuan-yin, Chinese name of Avalokiteśvara, _q.v._
Kubera, 39.
Kwan-non, Japanese name of Avalokiteśvara, _q.v._
Lamas, hoods of, 46.
landscape,
treatment of, 7;
dividing scenes, 13;
_see_ hills.
_laṅgōṭī_ (loin-cloth), 42, 58.
Laufer, Dr. B., 41.
leather,
armour, 42, 62;
scales, 41.
linen, paintings on, 3, 46.
lion, 15, 41, 49, 55.
Littlejohn, Mr. S. W., 2.
_Ló-shen-fu_, painting, 6.
Lokapālas, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 31, 36, 39, 40, 41, 53, 58, 60, 61,
62.
Lop desert, 5.
Lorimer, Miss F. M. G., xii.
lotus-lake, 12, 17, 18, 22.
lotus-seats, 20, 50, 55.
Lumbinī garden, 6, 52.
Lung-mên, relievos of, 22, 43.
lute, 16, 17, 18, 45, 53.
Magadha, 27.
Mahākāla, 30.
Mahāsthāma, 18, 20, 22, 49.
Mahāyāna Buddhism, ix, x, 4, 28.
Maheśvara, 31.
mail-coat, 41, 59.
Maitreya,
Buddha, 5;
Paradise of, 19.
_Maitreya-vyākaraṇa-sūtra_, 18.
Maṇḍala, compositions, x;
of Avalokiteśvara, 13, 36, 57.
Manichaeism, 5.
Mañjuśrī, 5, 12, 14, 15, 29, 40.
manuscripts,
at Ch‘ien-fo-tung, 1, 8;
rolls, in paintings, 20, 48.
Māra, attack of, 27.
marginal scenes, 13, 16, 17, 47, 51.
Māyā, 52.
Meru, Mount, 17, 40, 61.
Milne, Mr. J. C., xi.
Mīrān, mural paintings at, 4, 21.
mirror,
metal, 19;
magic, 38.
Mithras, worship of, 4 sq.
modelling, in two tones, 10.
monkey, 53.
monks, 17, 30, 38, 47, 49.
Moon,
Bodhisattva of, 30, 57;
disc of, 47.
mouth-organ, 14, 15, 16, 36.
musical instruments, 12, 16 sqq.
musicians, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 45, 51.
Nāga-tree (coral), 40.
Nāgas, 31, 40, 52, 57.
Nara, frescoes at, 3.
Nativity, of Gautama, 52.
Nepalese miniatures, 27;
paintings, 3, 9.
‘Nymph of Virtue’, 31, 57.
Nymphs, 12, 15, 50, 60.
officials, dress of, 37;
_see_ dress.
ox-headed demon, 45.
palanquin, 20, 52.
Pāpaṃkara, legend of, 16, 17.
paper paintings, 36, 47 sq., 61.
Paradise,
of Amitābha, _see_ Western Paradise;
of Bhaiṣajyaguru, 50;
of Maitreya, 19;
of Śākyamuni, 15, 16.
pavilions, 13.
peacock, 12, 18, 22, 31.
pearl, of Kṣitigarbha, 37.
Pelliot, M. Paul, 2.
Persia, 4;
_see_ Iranian.
Petrucci, M. R., viii, x, xi, xii, 14, 16, 17, 19, 27, 30, 37, 50.
phoenix, 12, 22, 31.
pipe, 12, 14, 16, 25;
_see_ whistle-pipe.
Planets, divinities of, 8, 53.
plectrum, 53.
portraits, of donors, 7, 16, 21.
_pretas_, 31, 38.
processions, 14 sq.
psaltery, 12, 17, 18, 45.
Rājagṛha (Rājgir), 27, 48.
rat-king, 58.
_ratnām_, _see_ seven.
Rawak Vihāra, 27.
reborn souls, 12, 16, 18, 22.
reed-organ, 12, 17.
Roman Empire, silk trade to, 4.
‘royal ease’, pose of, 35, 58.
saddles, 20.
‘Sage of the Air’, 31, 57.
Śakti, of Avalokiteśvara, 45, 46.
Śākyamuni, 17;
in pictures, 5;
legend of, 6;
Paradise of, 15, 16;
type of, 4;
_see_ Gautama, Buddha.
Samantabhadra, 5, 12, 14, 15, 29, 45.
sandals, 41;
of string, 37.
Śāriputra, 25, 49.
Sassanian relievos, 40.
‘Sassanian’ textile motifs, 40, 45, 60.
scabbard, lacquered, 62.
scale armour, 39, 41, 42, 53, 59 sq., 62.
Schlesinger, Miss K., 12, 53.
_Serindia_, ix, xi.
Seven Jewels, 53.
Seven Steps, of Gautama, 52.
shading, method of, 15.
shoes, of string, 62.
Shōsōin Collection, 12.
silk, of paintings, 2;
gauze-like, 23;
trade from China, 4.
_siṃhāsana_, 36.
Śivaitic divinities, 30.
slab for inscription, 21, 22, 38.
spacing, Chinese, 9, 46, 60.
Śrāvastī, ‘Miracle of,’ 27.
stag, white, 61.
statues, of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, 26;
_see_ Vulture Peak.
Stone & Son, Messrs. Henry, xi.
Stūpa, consecration of, 20.
Śuddhodana, 25.
Sukhāvatī, _see_ Western Paradise;
type of, 22.
Sun, Bodhisattva of, 30, 57;
disc of, 47.
Sung period, art of, 7.
Syrinx, 16.
Taki, Prof., xii.
Taklamakān desert, 5.
T‘ang period, art of, 5, 6, 7.
Tantra doctrines, 46;
emblems, 58.
Taoist monk, at Caves, 1 sq.
Tārā, goddess, 45, 46.
Tejaḥprabha, Buddha, 53.
tempera, painting in, 46.
textile patterns, 54;
_see_ Sassanian.
Thunder god, 26.
Ti-tsang (Kṣitigarbha), 37.
Tibet,
Buddhism of, 46, 58;
Buddhist art of, 9, 46.
Tibetan paintings, 3, 9.
Tibetans, at Tun-huang, 45, 46, 47.
tiger, 48.
tonsure, 19.
trees, in paintings, 11, 16, 20, 22.
‘triple cord’, 42.
Tun-huang,
oasis and town, 1 sq.;
chiefs of, 36;
Tibetan conquest of, 9.
Turfān, 5;
painting from, 21.
Turkestān,
Buddhist art of, 3, 4;
pictorial style of, 9;
under Chinese rule, 4.
Tuṣita Heaven, 18.
Urushibara, Mr. Y., 2.
Vaiśravaṇa, 58;
paintings of, 6, 39, 59;
emblems of, 40;
flag of, 60.
Vajra, 43, 47.
Vajrapāṇis, 31, 43, 58, 63.
_vara-mudrā_, 41, 46, 49.
vase, glazed, 36.
Vignette, portrait in, 21.
Virūḍhaka, 15, 36.
Virūpākṣa, 40, 58, 62.
Visser, Prof. M. W. de, 37.
_vitarka-mudrā_, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 28, 29, 32, 35, 47, 50.
votive inscription, 2.
Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa), 25, 27, 48, 49.
Waley, Mr. A. D., xii.
warrior kings, 12.
Western Paradise (_Sukhāvatī_), of Amitābha, 5, 6, 11, 17, 18, 20,
21, 22, 44, 52.
wheel, of sovereignty, 53.
whistle-pipe, 15, 16.
willow spray,
of Avalokiteśvara, 28, 30, 32;
Aval, under willows, 36.
Winter, Miss E. A., 2, 49.
‘Worlds of Desire’, 37, 38, 54.
Wu Tao-tzŭ, painter, 8.
Yabuki, Mr., xii.
Yakṣas, 39, 60;
_see_ demons.
Yaśodharā, 53.
Yün-kang, relievos of, 8, 22, 23.
Footnotes
[1] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 1420. For a distinctively ‘Indian’
representation of Mañjuśrī, see below, Plate XXVII.
[2] Cf. _Serindia_, Appendix E, p. 1410.
[3] See _Serindia_, Appendix _A_, pp. 1434 sqq.
[4] See particularly the painting, Ch. lv. 0023, of A.D. 864 reproduced
in Plate XVI.
[5] Cf. _Serindia_, pp. 850, 885, 888.
[6] See _Serindia_, p. 1410.
[7] For an interpretation of the symbolic meaning of this
representation, cf. M. Petrucci’s ‘Essai’ (Les Maṇḍalas), _Serindia_,
Appendix _E_, p. 1411.
[8] See _Serindia_, p. 835.
[9] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 850 sq.
[10] See _Serindia_, pp. 899 sq., 984 sq., Pls. CIX, CX.
[11] See _Serindia_ pp. 890, 1082 sq., Pl. LVIII, and M. Petrucci’s
notes in Appendix _E_ ibid., p. 1408 sq.
[12] Cf. _Serindia_, pp. 835, 890, note 38.
[13] See above, p. 17.
[14] See, e.g., Plate XXII.
[15] Cf. Stein, _Ancient Khotan_, ii. Pl. LIX.
[16] For details of the antiquarian evidence concerning the date of
these pictures, cf. _Serindia_, pp. 885, 896.
[17] See above, p. 9. Of my other pictorial ‘finds’ from Central Asia
only the mural paintings of Mīrān, approximately dating from the third
to fourth century A.D., show this use of ‘high lights’; cf. _Serindia_,
pp. 504, 508, Pls. XL-XLV.
[18] These two-lobed tufts of hair recall those shown on the heads of
the angels and _putti_ in the wall-paintings of the shrines excavated
by me at Mīrān; see _Serindia_, Figs. 134, 138, 140; Plates XL, XLI.
[19] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 850 sq.; also below, p. 23.
[20] See above, p. 21.
[21] For details on these points and on the question of style, cf.
_Serindia_, p. 847 sq.
[22] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 848.
[23] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 850; Chavannes, _Mission archéologique en
Chine_, i. Planches 207–10.
[24] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 849, note 18.
[25] This is against the fixed iconographic convention of Indian
tradition which shows the _right_ hand raised and the _right_ shoulder
uncovered by the under-robe. The explanation may be sought for in the
fact that in the case of banners both sides of the silk gauze had to
be painted. Here and in the Buddha of the banner in the middle of the
Plate we have obviously cases of a mistake made by the artist as to
which side was to be treated as the one intended for contemplation and
properly finished.
[26] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 858, and the reproduction of the banner, Ch.
lv. 0012, Pl. LXXV.
[27] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 947 (_sub_ Ch. 0039).
[28] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 880.
[29] See Petrucci, _Annales du Musée Guimet_, xli, pp. 121 sqq.
[30] Plate LXX of _Serindia_ shows the left half of the painting as
originally opened out and mounted at the British Museum. As regards
certain slight modifications of the arrangement effected in the
course of the final mounting and now seen in our Plate, the detailed
description of the painting in _Serindia_, pp. 1024 sqq., may be
referred to.
[31] Cf. Petrucci, _Annales du Musée Guimet_, xli. p. 122. The figure
at the first opening of the picture at the British Museum was found as
a detached fragment. To its left upper edge there adhered the inscribed
cartouche subsequently, on mounting, inserted in the blank space
between the two standing figures at the bottom; cf. _Serindia_, p. 1025
sq.
[32] See _Ancient Khotan_, i. 493, Figs. 62–4.
[33] Cf. Foucher, _Beginnings of Buddhist Art_, p. 172.
[34] Cf. _Iconographie bouddhique_, i. 40 sqq.
[35] For the willow-spray symbol cf. below, Plate XXIV.
[36] See Plates XIX, XXIX, XLI.
[37] For a reproduction in colours, but on a much smaller scale, see
_Desert Cathay_, ii. Plate VIII.
[38] For such Bodhisattva banners of the type conveniently designated
as ‘Chinese’ see Plates XIX, XXIX, XLI.
[39] Cf. M. Petrucci’s readings, _Serindia_, p. 1416 sq.
[40] For specimens of this ‘Indian’ type of Bodhisattvas see Plates
XXI, XXII; for detailed references concerning banners of this type,
particularly numerous among those on linen, cf. _Serindia_, p. 862.
[41] Cf. M. Petrucci’s notes, _Serindia_, p. 1398.
[42] See above, p. 16.
[43] Cf. M. Petrucci, on ‘Maṇḍalas de Kouan-yin’, _Serindia_, Appendix
_E_, pp. 1411 sqq.; and for a full description of our painting, ibid.,
pp. 1077 sqq.
[44] See M. Foucher’s brilliant essay on ‘La Madone bouddhique’ in _The
Beginnings of Buddhist Art_, pp. 285 sqq.
[45] See M. Petrucci’s explanations in _Serindia_, p. 1397. The
other two inscriptions seem to contain metrical invocations of the
all-merciful Kuan-yin.
[46] For scenes somewhat similar, see the side of Bhaiṣajyaguru’s
Paradise in Plate I.
[47] Cf. Mr. Binyon’s note in _Guide to an Exhibition Paintings,
Manuscripts, and other Archaeological Objects collected by Sir Aurel
Stein in Chinese Turkestān_, British Museum, 1914, p. 12.
[48] Cf. Chavannes, _Dix inscriptions chinoises de l’Asie centrale_, pp.
80 sqq.; _Serindia_, p. 1338 sq.
[49] See _Serindia_, p. 864, with note 16.
[50] Cf. Mr. Binyon’s remarks in _Guide to an Exhibition of Paintings,
MSS., &c., collected by Sir Aurel Stein_ (British Museum, London,
1914), p. 7 sq.; also M. Petrucci’s account of Kṣitigarbha’s
‘Maṇḍalas’, _Serindia_ p. 1422 sq.
The history of Kṣitigarbha’s cult in China and Japan forms the subject
of a full and very instructive monograph, _The Bodhisattva Ti-tsang
(Jizō) in China and Japan_, by Professor M. W. de Visser, with numerous
illustrations (Oesterheld & Co., Berlin, 1915), to which reference may
be made for all details.
[51] For a brief summary of the facts bearing on the iconographic
history of the Lokapāla figures in their transition from India and
Central Asia to China, cf. e.g. _Serindia_, pp. 870 sqq., where the
principal authorities are indicated.
[52] See _Ancient Khotan_, i. pp. 158, 252 sq.
[53] The treatment of the scales, apparently represented by three-armed
crosses, is peculiar and differs from the several methods of scale
armour which other Lokapāla figures (see e.g. Plate XLVII) usually
display. But it is found again on Vaiśravaṇa’s armour in Plate XLV and
may possibly be meant for a special kind of mail.
[54] For some of such indications, see _Serindia_, pp. 871 sq., 874.
[55] Cf. Herzfeld, _Am Tor von Asien_, p. 87. To the examples there
quoted in note 141 may be added the painted panel from Dandān-oilik, D.
vii. 5, shown in _Ancient Khotan_, ii. Pl. LIX.
[56] For more detailed observations on the two groups among Lokapāla
pictures, cf. _Serindia_, pp. 872 sqq.
[57] See _Serindia_, pp. 873 sq., 939 sqq., &c. Questions closely
bearing upon armour and costume such as our Lokapālas exhibit have been
discussed with much critical learning by Dr. B. Laufer in his _Chinese
Clay Figures_, Pt. 1: _Prolegomena on the History of Defensive Armour_
(Chicago, 1914).
[58] See _Ancient Khotan_, i. pp. xvi, 374, 411; _Serindia_, pp. 246,
463 sqq.
[59] See above, pp 12, 14 sq., 29.
[60] For detailed references, cf. _Serindia_, p. 873; see also _Ancient
Khotan_, i. pp. xvi, 252.
[61] For reference to works of MM. Chavannes, Foucher,
Grünwedel-Burgess, see _Serindia_, p. 875, note 45.
[62] Cf. _Serindia_, pp. 904 sqq., and the embroidery specimens
reproduced there in Plates CVI-CVIII, CX, CXI.
[63] Cf. F. H. Andrews, _Ancient Chinese Figured Silks excavated by Sir
Aurel Stein_ (B. Quaritch, London, 1920), pp. 4 sqq., Figs. 1–3.
[64] See above, Plates I, II.
[65] We meet with exactly corresponding examples of the combination of
Chinese and ‘Sassanian’ textile motifs in certain printed silks from
the ‘Thousand Buddhas’; see _Serindia_, p. 911, Plates CXIII, CXIV.
[66] See above, p. 9.
[67] Owing to these causes the reproduction of the painting has
presented considerable technical difficulties. Hence some of the details
mentioned cannot be made out in it quite as clearly as in the original.
[68] See his Appendix _K_, _Serindia_ p. 1473.
[69] Cf. Mayers, _The Chinese Reader’s Manual_, p. 48.
[70] See above, pp. 25, 27.
[71] For full details of the iconographic evidence I may refer to
_Serindia_, pp. 878 sqq.
[72] Some idea of the labour implied by the execution of the embroidery
may be formed from the fact that the careful remounting of the hanging
on a fresh canvas backing, which became necessary at the British Museum
for its preservation, kept the expert employed on this task, Miss E. A.
Winter, of the Royal School of Needlework, occupied for over three
months.
[73] Some connexion might perhaps be sought with an early legend
relating to Śākyamuni’s stay on Gṛdhrakūṭa. While engaged in meditation
within a grotto, he was believed to have pushed his right arm through
its rock-wall in order to reassure his disciple Ānanda, whom Māra,
in the shape of a vulture, had frightened; cf. Foucher, _L’art
gréco-bouddhique du Gandhâra_, i. p. 497.
[74] See above, pp. 20 sqq.
[75] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 885.
[76] See above, p. 21.
[77] See above, p. 13.
[78] See above, p. 23.
[79] For the reasons which account for the banners with scenes from the
Life usually forming small groups or at least pairs, cf. _Serindia_, p.
852.
[80] This is in complete accord with the original Buddhist tradition
which presents the descent of the white elephant not as a real event,
but as a dream of Māyā; cf. Foucher, _L’art gréco-bouddhique du
Gandhâra_, i. p. 292.
[81] For a textual reference supporting this interpretation, cf.
_Serindia_. p. xxiii, _add_. to p. 855, note 50^a.
[82] See above, p. 8.
[83] See _Serindia_, pp. 933 sq., Figs. 215, 226.
[84] For a full description of this instrument, cf. Miss K.
Schlesinger’s note in Appendix _H_, _Serindia_, p. 1468.
[85] Cf. _Serindia_, Appendix _E_, p. 1429.
[86] See above, p. 37 sq.
[87] See above, p. 8.
[88] Cf. _Serindia_, pp. 861 sqq.
[89] For specimens cf. _Serindia_. pp. 904 sq.; Plates CVI-VIII, &c.
[90] See _Ancient Khotan_, i. pp. 120 sq., 264 sq.; ii. Pl. LXIII;
_Serindia_, iii. p. 1277.
[91] See above, p. 9.
[92] Cf. also above, p. 39.
[93] Cf. _Serindia_, p. 874.
[94] See Plates XVII, XLII.
[95] Cf. Grünwedel, _Altbuddhistische Kultstätten_, pp. 282, 351, Fig.
583; Foucher, _L’art gréco-bouddhique du Gandhāra_, ii. pp. 32 sqq.
[96] See _Serindia_, Plate C (Ch. 00158).
[97] See above, p. 40 sq.
[98] For a likely explanation of this unusual attitude, see above, p.
24, note 25.
[99] See _Serindia_, ii. p. 874; Pls. XXXVII, LIV.
Transcriber’s Note:
Text Notes:
1. Italicized text is indicated with leading and trailing
underscores. (_)
2. Superscript text is indicated with a leading caret (^).
3. Footnotes have been moved the end of each section (Preface,
Introductory Essay, and main text). Numbering is unchanged.
4. Index sub-items have been placed on their own line beneath
the main item.
5. The original printed version of this work was composed of a book
containing the text and two books containing numbered image
plates.
Change List (page numbers from original printed book):
Page 6
legend of Sākyamuni in his last life
changed to
legend of Śākyamuni in his last life
Page 40
VIRŪPĀKṢA AND MAÑJUSRĪ
changed to
VIRŪPĀKṢA AND MAÑJUŚRĪ
Page 42
crimson _langōṭī_ flowered with blue rosettes
changed to
crimson _laṅgōṭī_ flowered with blue rosettes
Page 65
Petrucci, M. R., viii, x, xi, xii, 14, 16, 17, 19, 27, 30, 37, 50.
changed to
Petrucci, M. R., v, x, xi, xii, 14, 16, 17, 19, 27, 30, 37, 50.
Printed Image Plate Dimensions (width x height in centimeters)
Plate Dimension Plate Dimension
1 38.3 x 49.3 25 54.3 x 34.9
2 33.7 x 49.3 26 40.7 x 45.1
3 32.5 x 49.6 27 38.0 x 49.5
4 25.4 x 49.4 28 37.9 x 39.8
5 19.7 x 39.6 29 42.1 x 50.3
6 32.7 x 49.3 30 45.7 x 39.7
7 37.3 x 49.3 31 30.2 x 49.8
8 35.9 x 49.1 32 50.3 x 26.2
9 49.5 x 41.9 33 52.5 x 32.5
10 36.5 x 49.6 34 17.0 x 25.2
11 41.7 x 39.5 35 21.5 x 20.0
12 54.9 x 35.5 36 20.4 x 21.5
13 42.7 x 49.5 37 20.9 x 22.8
14 36.1 x 49.4 38 12.8 x 36.0
15 35.8 x 49.9 39 20.2 x 22.0
16 32.9 x 49.5 40 20.2 x 28.3
17 37.6 x 49.5 41 25.8 x 26.3
18 29.3 x 49.3 42 18.7 x 24.7
19 38.4 x 39.7 43 17.9 x 22.6
20 26.3 x 39.6 44 20.5 x 26.2
21 18.6 x 49.4 45 17.2 x 24.7
22 47.7 x 33.5 46 27.0 x 32.8
23 33.3 x 49.2 47 21.7 x 20.8
24 40.1 x 49.5 48 23.4 x 32.5
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