Jade Appreciation--The Admirable Buddhist Jade Carving Arts

The glorious Buddhist arts in China Buddhism has a great impact on the Chinese culture for various respects. The Buddhist culture relics are abundant in the Chinese historical records. The stone carvings found in the caves of Tunhwang, Yunkang and Lungmen are known world wide for their artistic achievements. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, Buddhism has reached its peak. Many Buddhist relics from the Sui dynasty have been kept intact due to the promotion of the rulers. Among the many cave carving of the Sui dynasty, the most abundant and glorious is the Mohrkao cave.  After the Tang dynasty, Buddhism has been combined with the thought of Confucians and the political ideas due to the emphasis of the imperial exploitation and management. In the nineteenth year of Jenkwang of the Emperor Tai Tsung of the Tang dynasty, Master Hsuan Tsang came back from India with 600-odd Buddhist scriptures many of which he and his disciples translated into Chinese. Lungmen Grottoes was carved in the Tang dynasty under the rule of Empress Wu (625-705). Most of the Buddhist statutes found in the Sui and Tang dynasties are carved with jade and guilt with gold. The bases are usually seen with bronze. The style of the Buddhist statues have deep genre of Tibetan sultra school. The motif of flying fairies shown on the aureole of the Buddhist statutes found in the Sui and Tang dynasties conforms the genre of those appeared on the jade objects of the Tang dynasty.