Study On The Image Of Maitreya

The image of Maitreya originated from ancient India,flew across the Western Regions and finally flourished in China However,it's Japanese and China's Taiwanese researchers who pioneered in the iconography study,and up till now there has been no systematic and comprehensive work on it home and abroad.Based on the related Maitreya scriptures and existing reference materials,the dissertation comprehensively investigates into the religious significance,artistic style and historical transformation of Maitreya images from different perspectives such as archeology,iconography,Buddhist scriptures and Maitreya belief etc.There are two main parts.Part one focuses on the history and transformation of the image of Maitreya Part two elaborates on the availability and characteristics of the image of Maitreya The historical transformation of the image of Maitreya is divided into four periods,that is,origination,development,culmination and completion.In part two,the esoterication,function,posture and enlargement of the image of Maitreya are discussed.Since its entrance into China in Han Dynasty and Sixteen States Period,the development and transformation of the image of Maitreya coincided with the domestication of Buddhism in China.During the clash and interaction of Chinese and foreign culture,ancient artists and eminent monks continually drew from alien Buddhist imaging elements and were not limited to the accepted rules in creating Buddhist images and thus produced abundant Maitreya images that had distinctive national features.The domestication of the image of Maitreya in China went through about three stages.The first was the early stage of the blending of immortals and Buddha,during which the image of Maitreya was neither the iconography paradigm of the ancient India nor the completely domesticated Chinese one,but the blended image of Buddha and supematural being in traditional beliefs of ancient China For instance,in consideration of the crown prince's creating Maitreya image,Shen Yue in Liang Dynasty wrote Ode to Maitreya in which he called Maitreya as a god.The characteristics of the image of Maitreya in this stage were immature and transitional.The second was the middle stage of the culmination of the image of "Crossing-foot Maitreya" and that of "Lean-Sitting Maitreya".The image of Maitreya was specifically portrayed as "Ascending Maitreya" and "Descending Buddha".The image of "Crossing-foot Maitreya" was prevalent in North Wei Period and that of"Lean-sitting Maitreya" was very typical in Tang Dynasty.The image of Maitreya in this stage was both idealistic and realistic,and not only transcendental,but also this-worldly.The third stage was the complete period of the later Pu-tai-Maitreya.After Northern Song Dynasty various Maitrey a iconography all gave way to the Pu-tai image.So far the iconography of Maitreya had gone to its extreme in terms of secularization and domestication in China and hereafter the images of Maitreya as Buddha or Bodhisattva disappeared.Through the investigation into and studies on the iconography of Maitrey,some preliminary conclusions are as follows:1.The image of Maitreya in ancient India originated from that of Sakyamuni instead of yakkha,brahman or central Asia.It's because the account of yakkha mixes up the iconography elements of yakkha and Sakya and that of central Asia obscures the concepts of origination and development.2.Dai Kui and his son Dai Yong in Eastern Jin Dynasty were the first generation of artists in initiating the domestication of the iconography of Maitreya in China.3.There appeared two heights in the development of the iconography of Maitreya—one was in the period of Southern and Northern Dynasties,particularly in the Northern Wei Dynasty,and the other was in Tang Dynasty,especially during the reign of Empress Wu Tse-tian.4.After Dong Wei Dynasty the creation of Maitreya images didn't decrease with the declination of the belief in Maitreya,not as the academic community has said.The fact was that the creation of Maitreya images went through two important changes.On one hand,the iconography of Maitreya shifted from the official big-scale grotto carving to folk creation,of which the single statue of Maitreya was very popular.On the other hand,the iconography of Maitreya appeared more as the thinking Maitreya and the images of Crossing-foot Maitreya relatively decreased in number.So apparently it seemed that after Eastern Wei Dynasty and till Sui and Tang Dynasties the iconography of Maitreya became gradually less.5.The image of Pu-tai Maitreya is not equivalent to that of Pu-tai Ho-Shang.The image of Maitreya was set as that of Pu-tai Maitreya was the result of the materialization of many elements in the culture,history and religion of the Chinese nation.Because of this,Ho-Shang or monk is not the basis for the transformation and completion of the image of Maitreya.6.Since Tang Dynasty,with the rise of Esoteric Buddhist School there appeared the esoteric image of Maitreya in the Tibetan region,which added new vitality to the development of the iconography of Maitreya in China.7.The concept of Big Image of Maitreya being carved in stone is different from that cast in bronze.Based on Maitreya scriptures,the dissertation gives the first definition of the size of Big Image of Maitreya and makes a multi-dimensional study on the common phenomenon of the popularity of Big Image of Maitreya in Buddhism.As far as the research method is concerned,we argue that study on the image of Maitreya is not just the analysis of the artistic features,but should take into consideration many factors such as religion,culture and economy.And it's not a one-to-one correspondence between the image of Maitreya and statue practices.Therefore we should use dynamic and comprehensive approach and study it in specific historical context.In terms of time,the dissertation spans from the period of Five Nomadic Tribes in the North and the Sixteen Countries to Song Dynasty.In terms of space,it strides across India and China.In terms of material,it mainly takes stone,bronze and image transformation as its objects of study.Reviewing the past and knowing the present,and resting in the supreme goodness are the spiritual impetus to the inheritance and development of Chinese civilization.Outlining the historical development of the iconography of Maitreya sheds light on the history of cultural interaction between Chinese nation and other nations,and it is more helpful in absorbing former experience so as to promote international cultural and artistic communication,wherein lies the purport of the contemporary investigation into the iconography of Maitreya.