Chinese Steles: Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist Use of a Symbolic Form

Chapter Six: The Maitreya Faith and Henan Steles

T he discussion of Shanxi steles in chapter 5 introduced some principal themes of late Northern Wei Buddhist art and motifs, such as those of the Thousand Buddhas and Buddhas of the Three Ages, which explore the concept of buddhahood as it developed in Buddhist thought. This chapter focuses on steles from the Henan region that feature Maitreya as the principal icon. Following the developments in India and Central Asia, Maitreya Bodhisattva, the Future Buddha and successor of the Historical Buddha, emerged as the first cult figure to rival the popularity of Śâkyamuni. The emergence of the cult of Maitreya signaled a transition from the Hinayâna ( Small Vehicle) to the Mahâyâna ( Great Vehicle ) worldview, which centers on the bodhisattva cult. Because of Maitreya’s promise of an ideal kingdom as a buddha-to-be, the Maitreya faith in China also merged with political undercurrents to manifest in the forms of messianic cults and politically inspired rebellions. The Maitreya faith in China peaked from the late fifth to the early sixth century, and Buddhist cave-chapels such as Yungang and Longmen fully document the popularity of Maitreya as a devotional icon. Although not all Henan steles are Maitreya steles, they nonetheless include some extraordinary examples that appropriately serve as a focal point for examining the significance of the Maitreya cult in early Chinese Buddhist art. Artistically, they represent the emergence of a synthetic Chinese Buddhist style centering on Luoyang (the late Northern Wei capital) in the early decades of the sixth century, and can serve as comparisons for Maitreya steles from other regions. the henan school Geographically, Henan province is divided into northern and southern parts by the Yellow River, which runs east and west through the province. To the north, the fertile alluvial plain at the foot of the Taihang mountains on the Shanxi border forms a part of the great plain of Hebei and western Shandong. Lying on the ancient east-west route along the belt of the middle Yellow River Valley, the Luoyang-Zhengzhou-Kaifeng region has characteristics similar to those of the northern plains. To the east, the flat land forms part of the drainage basin of the Huai River. A complex of mountain ranges and basins occupies the western third of the province, separating it from southwestern Shanxi and eastern Shaanxi. chapter six THE MAITREY A FAITH AND HENAN STELES 90 maitreya faith and henan steles The fertile river valleys and plains of Henan have been associated with the rise of ancient Chinese civilization, with Luoyang being one of the most important ancient cities and dynastic capitals. As the capital of the Eastern Han dynasty, Luoyang epitomized Han civilization, with its set of stone tablets inscribed with the Confucian canon symbolically standing outside the Grand Academy (see chap. 2). Luoyang also had the reputation of being the cradle of Buddhism in China. According to tradition, the arrival of two Indian missionaries , Kâśyapa Mâtan . ga (Ch.: Shemoteng) and Dharmaratna (Ch.: Zhufalan), at the Eastern Han court of Emperor Ming (r. 58–75 c.e.) marked the official introduction of Buddhism to China. By the second century, there already existed a lively religious community there, complete with an eclectic group of foreign monks engaged in the translation and teaching of Buddhist texts.1 To the east of the capital is the Baimasi (White Horse Temple), which according to tradition was the first Buddhist temple built in China. When the Xiongnu sacked Luoyang in 311, the city was destroyed, ushering in a period of chaos with a mass exodus of Chinese migrating south. However, it was due to the memory of Luoyang’s rich history and political, cultural, and religious symbolism that the Northern Wei chose to establish its second capital there. Lavish patronage of Buddhism from the imperial family, aristocracy, and commoners alike transformed Luoyang into the most splendid Buddhist capital during the first few decades of the sixth century, celebrated in Yang Xuanzhi’s Luoyang qielanji.2 In addition to the cavemap 3. Stele Sites in Henan. 1820 province boundaries. “CHGIS, Version: 1.0.” Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Yenching Institute, April 2002. maitreya faith and henan steles 91 temple sites of Longmen and Gongxian, the region had one of the highest concentrations of Buddhist temples. Henan is a major area of stele production, with some forty monuments recorded, a number that does not include many fragments of broken steles...