Early Chinese Lohan Belief And Image Research

Arhat worship in China comes up hand in hand with Maitreya worship. It evolves throughseveral phases. Starting from introduction of the concept of Arhat, then to worship of Arhat as oneentity, then to worship of Arhat as ?kya's disciples (for instance worship of the “Ten Disciples”),then to worship of a specific Arhat or a specific group of Arhats, and finally to the worship ofsymbolic “Five hundred Arhats”. The prosperity of Arhat worship in China shall thank tosecularization and utilitarianism. It was the worship of the “Sixteen Arhats” that layed the connerstone for Arhat worship in China before8thcentury. Focusing on Chinese Buddhism before8thcentury, this dissertation approaches the early Chinese Arhat worship and its imagery. Thedissertation traces the Arhat worship back into ancient India and central Asia, describes theaccommodation of the cult in China. Meanwhile, the dissertation discusses in length on theworship of the “Sixteen Arhats” in8thcentury, analyzes how the idea of “effects” contributes tothe secularization of Arhat worship, explains how Mah?-y?na thoughts and the idea of“carima-k?la” jointly affects the Arhat worship. Besides, this dissertation discusses imagery ofArhat worship by iconographic, stylistic approaches. While the imagery of Arhat follows doctrinesof Buddhism closely, the style keeps free and open. By exploring the historical evolvement of TheSixteen Arhats, attributed to Guan Xiu, the dissertation treated the complex of the well knownimagery system of Arhat in China.