gifted collector

Chapter 467 The Buddha of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
"Amitabha!"

Yitong couldn't understand Fang Ming's meaning, but he really didn't know how to say this matter.A few years ago, I accidentally saw this Buddha statue of Sakyamuni. When I accidentally saw this Buddha statue, I found that it was exquisite in workmanship, thick and grand, and more importantly, he found that this Buddha statue should be a piece of antique.

The bigger the Buddha statue, the more difficult it is to make, not to mention this three-meter-high Buddha, and it is even more rare if it has a history of hundreds or even thousands of years.

The original Sakyamuni Buddha in the main hall of Tonghua Temple has never satisfied Yitong, so when he found this Sakyamuni Buddha, he immediately tried to buy it and transport it back to Tonghua Temple.At the beginning, Yitong was a little skeptical. After all, the origin of such a big Buddha was a little unclear. At least one point was that he couldn’t identify when the Buddha statue was made, so he was still there at the beginning. Hesitating whether to put this Sakyamuni Buddha statue in the Daxiong Hall of Tonghua Temple.

However, something happened at this time. One day, there was a sudden heavy rain, and then a thunderbolt struck the Mahavira Hall. Strange to say, it destroyed the original Shakyamuni Buddha in the hall.

Under such circumstances, Yitong had no choice but to put the Shakyamuni Buddha he transported back on it.Strange to say, when the new Shakyamuni Buddha was replaced, the incense in Tonghua Temple was at least [-]% higher than before.

In Yitong’s view, the most important karma for becoming a monk is that he first got this Buddha Shakyamuni by accident, then the original Buddha Shakyamuni was struck by lightning, and then he replaced it with a new Buddha Shakyamuni. After the Buddha, the incense is more prosperous than before. If only one of these things happened, it could be called a coincidence, but three things happened at once, and they were connected one after the other. , so he felt that the appearance of this Sakyamuni Buddha was the instruction of the Buddha.

As time passed slowly, Yitong basically put this matter behind him.If it wasn't for the preparation of the celebration now, and it was wind that someone was going to deal with Tonghua Temple, Yitong wouldn't have remembered it.

Carefully calculated the things I had done and everything in the Buddhist temple over and over again, and finally remembered this Buddha statue.While his heart was beating wildly, Yitong once again appraised the Sakyamuni Buddha he bought back after a few years, but the more he appraised, the less sure he was.

There are quite a few people in Ningdong City who can identify antiques, but Fang Ming is the most famous one right now. At this time, Fang Ming called and said that he wanted to find him. After waiting and waiting, he didn’t get Fang Ming, so he just went out in front of the monastery. waiting.

Generally speaking, Buddha statues in Buddhist temples do not have to be antiques, but if they are fake, it becomes a problem.

Looking up at the big Shakyamuni Buddha in front of him, Fang Ming said, "Master Yitong, when do you think this big Buddha was? Sui and Tang Dynasties?"

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the development of Buddha statues was at its peak, which was related to the entire social background. At this time, the country’s economy and culture were strong, and the rulers believed that Buddhism was important to stabilizing social order and maintaining rule, so basically All of them are vigorously developing Buddhism.

For example, in the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Wen Yang Jian unified the country after destroying Chen, ended the 300-year-old Politburo that divided the North and the South, and re-established a unified country. The cultures of the North and the South were thus integrated. Although the Sui Dynasty was relatively short, But its appearance and existence laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

In terms of the development of Buddhism, after Emperor Wen unified the country, he ordered many times to build Buddha statues and shape various Buddha statues. At the same time, he also organized people to translate Buddhist scriptures, etc., all of which promoted the rapid development of Buddhism.For another example, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty once issued an edict stating that secular people, regardless of high or low, can freely become monks as long as they intend to worship the Buddha, and stipulated the number of monks and building Buddha statues according to the population ratio, and ordered to restore and carve Buddha statues.According to statistics, during the more than 20 years of Sui Wendi's reign, hundreds of thousands of Buddha statues such as copper, tooth bone, and stone have been repaired and built.

In the Tang Dynasty, because of its strong national power and political and social stability, it was able to absorb the essence of various ethnic cultures to form its own style, and cultural prosperity and a hundred flowers blossomed.

Local Taoism, Buddhism, and other religions spread at the same time, but among all religions, Buddhism was the most valued by the rulers.

For example, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the most famous in history, ordered the establishment of Buddhist temples all over the country, wrote the "Preface to the Holy Religion", and personally promoted Buddhism. The same was true for Wu Zetian later. She encouraged monks to teach Buddhist scriptures, promote Buddhism, and supported the construction of Buddhist temples and pagodas.

Under such an era background, many Buddha statues appeared in the Sui and Tang dynasties, and a large number of fine works were left behind.

It can be said that the reason why a large number of fine Buddha statues appeared at this time, or left behind, is an act of the state.

According to the records in "New Book of Tang·Baigongzhi", the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to sculpture. The imperial court set up a Ministry of Industry for this purpose, which was used to manage craftsmen from all over the country. In this way, the sculpture and copper casting craftsmen and craftsmen of the whole country were managed in a unified way. Therefore, in the workshops managed by the state during this period, the sculpture art developed and progressed rapidly.With the rapid development of sculpture level, Buddhist statues have benefited the most, and the level of craftsmanship is also the highest.

"Amitabha, it's me. I think this should be a Buddha statue from the Sui and Tang Dynasties."

Yitong didn't find it strange that Fang Ming could tell the Buddha statue in front of him just by looking at it, because if Fang Ming didn't have this ability, he wouldn't have gained such a reputation in the antique collection circle of Ningdong City.

"Although the Sui Dynasty existed for a relatively short time, its Buddha statues have their own characteristics. Generally speaking, the head is big and the body is small, the upper body is longer and the lower body is shorter. If it is a bodhisattva, the grain of the wreath is relatively thick and droops beyond the knees, and the whole Buddha statue is relatively dull and lacks a sense of agility."

"In the early Tang Dynasty, the faces of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were relatively moderate, and their bodies were relatively plump. The hair buns of Buddhas were towering and most of them were spiral hairs. On the other hand, coats with bare shoulders and open shoulders are used alternately. There are small knots on the skirt, which are separated from the left and right but do not droop directly. The folds of the lower part of the Buddha statue are more dense and dense. The lines on the clothes are usually long flowers. Round rope-like stripes. It should be noted that at this time, Buddha statues usually used the straight flat knife method to express the texture of the clothes, and later used the new concave circular knife method to express, because this can increase the appearance of the Buddha statue. Waiting for a three-dimensional sense."

Yitong is an eminent monk who has achieved Taoism. He may not know much about other aspects, but he knows the characteristics of Buddhist statues in various periods very well, and he just opened his mouth.

Fang Ming nodded lightly, and continued: "Buddha statues in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty had three characteristics, that is, distinct personalities, secularization and individuality. This is related to the highly developed economic life at this time. The original Buddha statues may be lofty, but at this time, Buddhism, in a sense, has entered the world. This is because in order to attract more believers, Buddhist Buddha statues also "learned scriptures" from secular life. It is easier to be accepted by people, and the characteristics of Buddha statues in the Tang Dynasty were formed on this basis."

"I think the Buddha statue in front of me should be the work of Sheng Tang."

The raised head did not lower, Fang Ming continued to look at the big Buddha in front of him, and continued to say: "The Buddha statues in this period are serious and kind, and the faces are fuller, especially the outline of the five sense organs is more beautiful than before. It is soft and gentle, just like a real person. As for the hair buns of Buddha statues, there are a large number of snail buns, high meat buns, etc. You see, this Buddha statue in front of you has such characteristics."

"Also, at this time, many of the bases of Buddha statues are girdle-style pedestals, and the bases are more hexagonal, octagonal, and also come in various forms such as round or even flower-shaped.

Zhou Yafang went under the big Buddha to have a closer look, and said, "Yes, that's right, it's indeed a corset-style pedestal with an octagonal bottom."

"Actually, for the Buddha statues of this period, there is another most important characteristic for identification, and that is the carving technique at this time."

"Master Yitong has just said that in the early Tang Dynasty, Buddha statues had developed a new round knife method, which was concave downward. This method could make the Buddha statues more three-dimensional after carving. The knife technique has been further developed, mainly using raised circular lines on small parts to express the pattern of clothes, and the lines carved in this way are richer in layers and more three-dimensional.”

"Snapped!"

As he was talking, Fang Ming suddenly raised his hand and patted himself on the forehead, saying, "Well... I forgot one thing just now. The Sakyamuni Buddha in front of me may also be from the late Tang Dynasty. , because the characteristics of Buddha statues in the late Tang Dynasty are actually similar to those in the high Tang Dynasty."

"Amitabha."

Hearing what Fang Ming said, he let out a sigh of relief and relaxed slowly.After the Treasure Appraisal Conference, especially the confrontation with Wang Si, the young Fang Ming has become an authority in appraisal. If he is optimistic about the Buddha statue in front of him, it proves that it is real.

"It seems that I am really worrying unnecessarily. It is clear that there is nothing wrong, but I have been worrying all the time. It is really a sin."

"Ah? Master Yitong, I never said that this Buddha statue is real."

(End of this chapter)