The Type And Periodization Of Thousand-buddhas In Yungang Grottoes

Since Japanese scholar,Ito Chuta,published articles to record and research Yungang Grottoes in 1902,Yungang Grottoes has attracted a lot of scholars with its unique charm and value.So far,many achievements have been reached in many fields,such as the stage-division of grottoes,art origins,grotto types,sculpture styles,Buddha's life stories,and so on.But it would go a long way toward interpreting Yungang Grottoes,a number of questions remain to be solved.The question of thousand-Buddha in Yungang Grottoes is one of them.In the past,scholars mainly concentrated in naming thousand-Buddha in Yungang Grottoes.Or,when they periodized the whole grottoes or part of grottoes in Yungang Grottoes,a few of thousand-Buddha's periods were mentioned.However,a complete type-study and stage-division of thousand-Buddha in Yungang Grottoes is still the research gap.Therefore,it is essential to do a complete and systematic type analysis and periodization study on thousand-Buddha in Yungang Grottoes,and give a detailed account of every type's evolution,the carving time of each period of thousand-Buddha as well as their key characteristics and interrelations.The paper attempts to study based on this theme.Through using the archeological typology method and combining previous achievements,it is found that the thousand-Buddha in Yungang Grottoes can be divided into three periods.Each period not only has its own characteristics,but also connects with each other.Meanwhile,the paper also presents some ideas about all kinds of expression form of thousand-Buddha,ideological contents,functions and the way of cutting,etc.