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

Chapter Nine: Monumental Complex Steles and Further Developments in Mahāyāna Buddhist Iconography

B y the second and third quarters of the sixth century, the development of Buddhist steles had entered its mature phase. Earlier types such as the single-niche stele and the Thousand Buddhas stele continued, but these tended to be repetitive and mostly originated from conservative, rural areas. Stylistic and iconographic innovations were expressed primarily in monumental complex steles, which I categorize into two main types. The first type evolved from a single main niche to include a variety of subject matter. The second developed from the Thousand Buddhas motif, with multiple niches representing different Buddhist deities that expressed new devotional emphases and doctrinal developments. One further development was the increasing use of Buddhist steles as commemorative monuments, accentuating the importance of inscription over that of images. Henan has yielded the most diverse group of complex steles, many of which are of superb quality. The stele tradition also remained strong in Shanxi. The steles from Shaanxi (examined in chap. 7) retained a rustic, conservative quality, even though Chang’an became a metropolitan center of Buddhist art toward the end of the sixth century. Only scattered examples were found in Gansu, Hebei, and Shandong —regions that also produced Buddhist sculptures, but primarily in other forms, such as statues, altarpieces, and cave-temple sculptures. Several sixth-century monumental steles in Western collections are already well known in publications .1 This chapter examines some less familiar ones as well as recently excavated pieces, in an attempt to provide a broader overview for understanding the developments of Buddhist steles in the middle and latter parts of the sixth century. monumental complex steles The monumental complex stele evolved from the august dragon stele that features one main niche on its obverse, such as the MFA stele of 529, from southern Shanxi (see fig. 5.5). By the mid-sixth century, this type has become popular in Henan and had developed into a more or less standard idiom. The Zhang Dangui zaoxiangbei (fig. 9.1), excavated from Xiangxian in central Henan in 1957, suffices to illustrate this particular type and also the Northern Qi style at Henan.2 Dated 559, the stele is 108 centimeters high, 57 centimeters wide, and 8 centimeters thick. The stele’s top is fashioned in two pairs of intertwined dragons. In the stele top on the obverse there is a small niche carved with a bodhisattva triad. chapter nine MONUMENTAL COMPLEX STELES AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN MAHA –YA – NA BUDDHIST ICONOGR APHY fig. 9.1. Zhang Dangui bei. From Xiangchengxian, Henan. Northern Qi dynasty, dated 559. Limestone. H. 108 cm., W. 57 cm, Th. 8 cm. Henan Provincial Museum. From ZMQ, Wei Jin Nanbeichao diaosu vol., pl. 121. steles and mahâyâna buddhist iconography 137 The bodhisattva, whom Chinese scholars identify as Avalokites ́vara (Ch.: Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion), sits with one leg crossed and one leg pendent (a seated posture usually associated with the Contemplating Bodhisattva), while the hands are in the abhaya and varada mudras.3 The body of the stele contains carvings in three tiers. The middle tier portrays Śâkyamuni Buddha’s assembly. The seated Buddha, in the arched niche, is flanked by four pairs of figures: pratyekabuddhas, bodhisattvas, disciples (or arhats), and lokapâlas. At the bottom tier is the offering of incense supported by a dwarf, flanked by a male and a female donor each holding a lotus stem, and a pair of lions. Above the main niche is the debate between Mañjuśrî and Vimalakîrti, with bodhisattvas, arhats, and a goddess (next to Vimalakîrti) represented between the two protagonists . The presence of the goddess alludes to a miracle, narrated in the sutra, in which the goddess (on Vimalakîrti’s side of the debate) changed sex with the arhat Śâriputra (on Mañjuśrî’s side).4 One of the principal teachings of the Vimalakîrti Sûtra is tolerance of the inconceivable—that stretch of the imagination to comprehend the emptiness, or ultimate incomprehensibility, of all things. Using miracles as metaphors, and through the charismatic figure of Vimalak îrti, the sutra teaches the techniques of liberating one’s thoughts.5 Both Śâkyamuni Buddha’s assembly and the Vimalakîrti theme (see figs. 5.4, 6.7, 8.5) are commonly represented in early sixth-century steles, but they are now given fuller expression . The Buddha’s assembly developed from a triad to a group...