CHINA ARQUEOLOGIA golden-age-chinese-archayeolog

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Painted stone standing Buddha
with two bodhisattvas
Height 138 (54 Ys), width at base 90 (35 Ys)
Late Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE)
From Qijisi, Qingzhou, Shandong Province
Qingzhou Municipal Museum, Shandong Province
This painted limestone sculpture, unearthed on
10 December 1994 in Qijisi, depicts a standing
Buddha, flanked by two bodhisattvas against a
flame-shaped nimbus with seven flying apsaras. The
find-site corresponds to the ancient Qiji Monastery,
situated (according to the Jiajing Qingzhou Prefectuml
Gazeteer, 1522 -1566) in the northwestern corner
of Dongyang city, the administrative center of
Qingzhou during the Northern Wei period (386-
534 CE). Broken prior to its burial, the sculpture
was found in seven pieces.
The figures are sculpted in high relief with the
head of the Buddha, his body, shoulders, hands
and feet as if emerging from the stone. He stands
against a magnificent aureole, elaborately carved
in low relief, with the flames reaching upward and
terminating in an apex directly above the Buddha's
head. Measuring eighty-three centimeters high with
usnisa — the cranial protuberance that is one of the
thirty-two signs symbolizing his perfect wisdom and
enlightenment — the Buddha's form is lean and
slender, his features rendered with delicate refinement,
his large eyes downcast, and a slight smile
lighting his open countenance. The expression is
kind and benevolent, in harmony with his gestures
(mudras) of "have no fear" (abhaya) and "gift-bestowing"
(varada).
A halo, composed of plump lotus petals framed
by multicolored concentric rings, encircles his head,
terminating in an intricate rosette garland carved in
low relief. These radiant emanations from the Buddha
are given emphasis with gilding (the traces are
visible on the face, hands, bare feet, and exposed
parts of his body), and they are echoed by the large
oval body halo of petals and concentric rings, all of
which retain some of their original mineral colors.
The Buddha's hair is dressed in tight curls with
remains of sapphire blue, the traditional color of
his hair, and his lips have traces of vermilion.
His monk's robe is composed of three layers:
an outer shawl, draped to resemble a sleeved gown,
and an inner upper and lower robe, the latter,
secured with a wide chest sash. The garment is a
slight modification of the more exposed Indianstyle
that clung to the body and, with a diagonal
drape, fully revealed the right shoulder. Strongly
visible on the lower half of the outer shawl is the
vibrant color that covered the entire garment: a
design of bright vermilion rectangles on the bias
on which are painted fine lines of mineral color —
malachite, ultramarine blue and ochre. On the hem
of the inner garment, there is also painted a border
of fine vermilion stripes. The rectangles refer to the
patches or rags, which according to the Vinaya, the
Book of Monastic Discipline, should constitute the
Three Garments of a monk's robe, indicating humility
and avoidance of luxury. The more Chinese
appearance of the image may reflect the interest of
the dowager empress Feng and the Northern Wei
policy of adopting Han culture, which by the third
441 | BUDDHIST SCULPTURE FROM QINCZHOU