The placement of these 108 Buddha statues may seem messy, but after looking closely, one can feel that the placement of these statues seems to have a profound meaning.
However, Yang Jing couldn't figure out what this placement meant. After all, he understood Taoist knowledge, but he didn't have a deep understanding of some Buddhist things. He only understood some superficial things about Buddhism, and he didn't understand more profound things.
So Yang Jing could only feel that the placement of these Buddha statues had a profound meaning. If you let him figure it out, he would be completely finished.
These Buddha statues have different shapes, but they are mainly based on the shapes of many great Buddhist figures such as Sakyamuni, Guanyin, Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Wang, and Mudu. The largest ones range in height from about 20 centimeters to nearly one meter.
Yang Jing casually picked up a Buddha statue at the outermost edge, which was nearly 60 centimeters high. The statue was in the shape of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. As soon as he picked it up, Yang Jing felt it was heavy and immediately realized that this Buddha statue was the most popular gilded bronze Buddha statue in the Tang Dynasty.
Gilding is the process of combining gold and mercury to form an amalgam, applying it to the surface of a copper vessel, and then heating it to evaporate the mercury, so that the gold adheres to the surface of the vessel without falling off. Gilding is the oldest method of inlaying gold on metal objects in China, with a long history of more than 2,000 years and unique craftsmanship, and is one of the brilliant achievements of ancient Chinese technology.
The movable Buddha statues made of copper or bronze with gilded surface are commonly known as "gilded bronze Buddha statues". In ancient China, such Buddha statues were usually used in palaces and temples.
Buddhism was introduced into China in the Han Dynasty. In the early days, it was only regarded as a kind of immortality and was not widely popular. After the Western Jin Dynasty, the society was turbulent, wars continued, and people were living in poverty. Therefore, the belief of Buddhism that "transcends life and death and suffering, eliminates all troubles, and obtains ultimate liberation" was widely spread among the people. Ethnic minorities such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Di, and Qiang entered the Central Plains, and their cultural traditions were easier to identify with Buddhism from the Western Regions. Therefore, Buddhism grew rapidly during the Sixteen Kingdoms period and penetrated into all levels of society.
During the Sixteen Kingdoms period, the earliest group of eminent monks appeared in China, and they were strongly supported by the Hu rulers. These eminent monks not only systematically translated a large number of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures, but also cultivated a generation of outstanding scholars such as Sengzhao and Zhu Daosheng who built Chinese Buddhism. This era brought Chinese Buddhist art to its most glorious period. Early cave temples such as Mogao Grottoes, Bingling Temple Grottoes, and Maijishan Grottoes were excavated during this period. Existing Buddhist statues also first appeared at this time, and a large number of bronze gilded Buddha statue crafts also appeared.
The earliest gilded bronze Buddha statues appeared in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. They were often called golden men in the early period of Buddhism. They developed with the rise of Buddhist temples during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. They were mostly worshipped in the palace or Buddhist temples. They became increasingly prosperous from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty.
During the Han Dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Buddha statues had square faces, peaceful features, straight hair, and were seated. Most of the Buddha statues during this period were single and relatively large.
In the Northern Dynasties, that is, after the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddha statues had a bowl-shaped head, a long and thin face, a high nose and big ears, closed eyes and a gaunt face, a high forehead with a spiral bun, wearing a cassock, and exposing the right shoulder. Some were sitting cross-legged, some were sitting cross-legged with their palms facing up. The Buddha seat was either a low-waisted Sumeru seat or a four-legged square seat. Some had a halo on their heads, and some had a halo behind their backs, all of which were pointed and surrounded by flame patterns. Another notable feature of Northern Wei statues is that there were often one or two Bodhisattvas on both sides of the main Buddha, most of whom were standing.
This bronze statue from the Sui and Tang dynasties has a lotus crown on his head, a round face, fat cheeks, a high bun on his forehead, and wears a monk's robe, a cassock, and a pleated skirt under his loose clothes, which hangs down to his feet. There is a double-layer four-legged high bed or a single-layer four-legged bed under the seat, and the neck or back is a thick pointed lintel.
If you look closely, you will find that the style of the gilded bronze Buddha statues of the Tang Dynasty is slightly different from that of the Sui Dynasty.
Most of the gilded bronze Buddha statues of the Tang Dynasty have plump faces, spiral or wavy hairstyles, and relatively high buns compared to those of the Sui Dynasty. They have drooping ears and solemn yet kind expressions. They have well-proportioned bodies, reasonable structures, plump and full bodies, and the exposed chest muscles fluctuate, which is very realistic.
Moreover, the gilded bronze Buddha statues of the Tang Dynasty have naturally stretched postures, with strong dynamics. The robes are decorated with shoulder-length, right-shoulder-exposed, and wide-belted styles. Most of them have square collars and drooping belts. The fabric is soft and thin, with smooth folds. The pleats of the lower body are hung in front of the seat like a tablecloth, which is characteristic of the era.
Finally, the pedestals of Tang Dynasty gilt bronze Buddha statues are mostly waisted, with hexagonal, octagonal, round or flower-shaped bottom edges. The most important point is that most of the Tang Dynasty gilt bronze Buddha statues are gilded with reddish gold.
Just like the gilded bronze statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in your hand, the surface is slightly reddish, and the style is extremely consistent with the characteristics of gilded bronze statues of the Tang Dynasty.
The most important thing is that this Buddha statue has been in this tomb all the time. Unlike the common gilded bronze Buddha statues on the market, it has been circulating outside for many years and has gone through many hands. Therefore, the quality of this Buddha statue is excellent.
If it weren't for the gilded bronze Buddha statue discovered here, Yang Jing would have suspected that the statue was a high-quality imitation.
At present, the value of gilded bronze Buddha statues is extremely high, especially those from the Sui and Tang dynasties. Once they appear at an auction, they often become the finale. The gilded bronze Buddha statue in my hand is in such good condition and was cast during the Wu Zhou period. Once it is taken out, it will definitely cause a sensation.
There are a total of 107 gilded bronze Buddha statues of similar quality to this one of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva!
There is no doubt that with these exquisite gilded bronze Buddha statues, when his own private museum is opened, a Tang Dynasty gilded bronze Buddha statue exhibition hall is absolutely indispensable! So many Tang Dynasty gilded bronze Buddha statues, although they are all from the Wu Zhou period, will definitely make those who love gilded bronze Buddha statues linger.
These are absolutely good stuff, if you don’t have any, take them all!
Yang Jing knew very well that unless there were special circumstances, anything taken out of here must not be seen by the public.
After all, according to Chinese law, everything here belongs to the country, and no one has the right to keep these treasures. Even entering here is a crime.
But Yang Jing was not worried, because he had a big treasure in his hand.
Yang Jing had never thought of keeping the imperial seal in his own hands, and since he could not keep it, he would exchange it for the remaining treasures, and the country would surely agree. After all, these treasures would not be taken out of the country, but would remain in domestic museums forever for external exhibition.
I have worked so hard to retrieve the imperial seal for the country, and I believe the country will not object to using these treasures as rewards.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
