The Influence Of Gandhāra Culture On The Western Region Of China

Gandhāra has a broad sense and a narrow sense.In this paper,Taxila,Peshawar and Swat,the core regions of the generalized Gandhāra,are taken as the main research objects.It’s famous for Gandhāra Buddhist Art.Therefore,this paper takes the development and evolution of Buddhist art as the main basis,and divides the history of this region into four periods: Legend and prehistory,The budding period of Buddhist civilization,The development period of Buddhist civilization,The decline of Buddhist civilization.There are numerous Buddhist Sites in Gandhāra region.In the 19 th century,European explorers and archaeologists began to enter this region to carry out archaeological excavations and investigations.After the 20 th century,with Sir Alexander Cunningham,Sir John Marshall,Dr David Spooner,Dr Jane Vogel and other people as the main representatives,the Buddhist sites in this area were further excavated.According to the different forms of Buddhist sites,this paper divided Gandhāra Buddhist sites into three categories :(1)Buddhist city sites,including the city of Sirkap,the city of Sirsukh and the city of Chasada.(2)Buddhist temple sites,mainly including the Juliān,Mohrā Morādu,Kalawan in Taxila region,Sakhri Bakhlol,Takht-i-Bahi temple in Peshawar region,and Butkara temple,Saidu Sharif temple in Swat region.(3)the Stupa sites,mainly including the Dharmārāika,Kunāla,Lālchak stupa in Taxila region,and Shahji-ki-Dheri in Peshawar region.These sites,temples and stupas reflect the development,prosperity and decline of Gandhāra civilization,and are indispensable basic materials for the study of Gandhāra culture.According to the different materials,sculptures in Gandhāran Buddist art can be divided into stone,pottery,plaster,metal,etc.which were found in Buddhist sites of city,temple and stupa in Gandhāra region with rich themes such as images of the Buddha and Bodhisattva,Jātaka and stories of Budda’s life.In addition,a large number of Kharosthi script and Brahmi script inscriptions,as well as various coins in different historical periods,have been found in the region,representing different development periods and stages of the Gandhāra Culture.Around the year of the Christian era,Buddhism began to spread to the Western regions of China along the Silk Road,leaving a deep imprint on both the northern and southern routes.In the 20 th century,western explorers and archaeologists carried out a large number of archaeological investigations and excavations in western region of China,revealing a large number of Buddhist sites and stealing a large number of Buddhist artworks.In this paper,the Buddhist sites of the southern and northern Silk Road are divided into,Khotan,Shanshan,Kashgar,Kucha,Karashahr and Gaochang region.Based on the present archaeological data,this paper discusses the influence of Gandhāran culture on the Western region of China from the aspects of the layout of Buddhist temples,the shape and form of stupas and cells,Buddhist sculptures,writings and coins.Among them,the layout of Buddhist temples in the Western Region is similar to that in Gandhāra region,that is,the sutpas are in the courtyard and the monk’s living places are in the backyard.In the early stage,the stupa is the worship center of a temple and in the later stage the backyard became the main worship centers too.The shape of the stupa is also similar to that of the stupa in the Gandhāra region,which with square base,cylindrical body and bowl-shaped top.Buddhist sculptures with Gandhāran style have been found in many places in the Western region of China,including building components and Buddhism sculpture.In aspects of writings and coins,evidences of the impact refer to the findings of Kharosthi script and Brahmi script materials,Sino-Kharosthi coins in the Western Regions.All these relics not only embody the influence from Gandhāra but also prove that the Western Regions of China played an important intermediary role in the process of Buddhism spreading to the east.