A Study Of Steles And Statues Of Northern Dynasty Kept In Gansu Provincial Museum

Because of its special geographical location, Gansu has been the east-west cultural exchange point since ancient times. Similarly, Gansu stone statues dating to the Northern Dynasties, also show adequately foreign style and the characteristics of the local culture, it is also an important regional trait. In Gansu Provincial Museum collections, carved stone statues belong to Northern Dynasties display comprehensively, centralized and vividly the locus and height in Northern Dynasties at Gansu province draw the outline of the art style of the Northern Dynasties carved stone statues at Gansu province also reflect partly the veiled social situation and religious belief and the interaction between religion and culture. No doubt, compared with the whole province and the whole nation, Gansu Provincial Museum collecting the Northern Dynasties carved stone statues are called fine. The dissertation is to make mainly Gansu Provincial Museum collection as the main line, which strings the Gansu single carved stone of the Northern Dynasties left in Gansu, and to make a contrastive study on adjacent region, such as stone carvings at Shaanxi and Henan and Shanxi province.The most distinctive of Northern Dynasties stone carvings in Gansu, compared with ones from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and some other central China statues at the same period, is the foreign elements from head to end, not only receives the Shaanxi"Chang'an style(????)”,but also possess the Western Regions and Indian statues elements from the start of the Sixteen Countries. From Western Wei to Northern Zhou,namely, the late Northern Dynasties remains these elements as before. Retracing on the central China stone statues in the late Northern Dynasties, constantly sinicization and innovation, eventually forming a mature, sinicizing system of sculpture, and the foreign elements offset gradually.In terms of the geographical distribution among these Northern Dynasties stone carvings collecting Gansu Provincial Museum, the Northern Wei statues come from Pingliang(??).From Western Wei to Northern Zhou, namely, the late Northern Dynasties,mainly come from Tianshui(??).Retained stone carvings of Northern Dynasties all around Gansu are the same pattern: Pingliang and Qingyang(??)left Northern Dynasties stone carvings is dominated by Northern Wei Dynasty statues,while Qin'an,Zhangjiachuan(???)stone carvings is in the majority with the late Northern Zhou statues. This phenomenon reveals fully migration and evolution of the stone carvings center in Northern Dynasties at Gansu Province.The evolution of Northern Dynasties stone carvings style at Gansu is closely linked with regional the distribution rule. The early Northern Wei stone carvings are influenced with Xinjiang,Hexi regions early cave temples artistic style,which is connected with Northern Liang stone steles style left at Hexi Corridor. Because of geopolitical relations between Longdong(??)of Gansu and Shaanxi in the middle of the Northern Wei, stone carvings incorporate more "Chang' an style",Longdong has become a stone carving center at Gansu in Northern Wei, most of the Northern Wei stone carvings come from this region; Western Wei era is a dramatically transform and continuity period for Northern Dynasties stone carvings art, at the same time, the stone carving center also transfer Longdong to Tianshui, which forms two stone carvings patterns, including Tianshui, i.e. ancient Qin Prefecture whose the second Western Wei pattern has influenced widely the stone carvings from Northern Zhou to Sui and Tang Dynasties; Northern Zhou is a unification period for Northern Dynasties stone carvings style at Gansu, the unique stone carvings system have become abundant and mature, which is merged with stone grotto art, and initially formed Sui and Tang Dynasties Buddhist stone carving art.The Northern Dynasties stone carvings art at Gansu have unique local characteristics from beginning to end at a whole sight, so the stone carvings art have visible difference with Central Plains. These differences reflect on the belief of Buddhism, the performance theme, art style, donors and artistic expression art, which is precious in the Northern Dynasties stone carvings at Gansu Province. The Northern Dynasties stone carvings art is magnificent on the development history of Chinese Buddhist art.