Analysis of the Buddhist Statues from the Site of Bailong Temple in ...

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375 Grottoes and Statues Analysis of the Buddhist Statues from the Site of Bailong Temple in Linqu County, Shandong Province Lukas Nickel Ph.D., SOAS, University of London Zhenguang Li Curatorial Research Fellow, Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology A total of more than 200 fragments of statues made of stone, white pot- tery and gray poery were found at the site of Bailong Temple in Linqu County, Shandong Province. Most are the remains of stone statues. Most of these statues are fragmentary, but some are still well preserved. [1] e present article offers a further discussion of the Bud- dhist statues discovered at Bailong Temple. STONE STATUES A total of more than 230 pieces were found, most of which are fragments. ey include freestand- ing Buddha statues, freestanding Bodhisava statues, triads with mandorlas, pedestals of statues, and other types. Most of them are made of limestone, two of sandstone, two of chlorite schist and one of talc. (A) Fragments of Freestanding Buddha Statues Eighteen pieces were found, nine of which are fragments of torsos – i.e., waists, shoulders or legs. Artifact TG304:15-81 is made of limestone. It was carved with flat, straight stabbing cuts. e right hand of the Buddha shows the varada mudra, the hand gesture of granting wishes. e remaining height of the fragment is 4.5 centimeters. e date of the statue is probably between the Northern Wei Dy- nasty (386-534 CE) and the Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550 CE). Artifact TG304:15-33 is made of limestone. Only the chest portion remains. e leſt shoulder is covered with a robe, and the right shoul- der and right half of the chest are bare. e shoul- ders are rounded, and the chest is voluminous. e remaining height of the fragment is 20 cm. Collected Chinese Cultural Relics No. 2-4, 2014. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. www.eastviewpress.com/Journals/CulturalRelics.aspx

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Grottoes and Statues

Analysis of the Buddhist Statues from the Site of Bailong Temple in Linqu County, Shandong ProvinceLukas NickelPh.D., SOAS, University of London

Zhenguang LiCuratorial Research Fellow, Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

A total of more than 200 fragments of statues made of stone, white pot-tery and gray pottery were found at the site of Bailong Temple in

Linqu County, Shandong Province. Most are the remains of stone statues. Most of these statues are fragmentary, but some are still well preserved.[1] The present article offers a further discussion of the Bud-dhist statues discovered at Bailong Temple.

STONE STATUESA total of more than 230 pieces were found,

most of which are fragments. They include freestand-ing Buddha statues, freestanding Bodhisattva statues, triads with mandorlas, pedestals of statues, and other types. Most of them are made of limestone, two of sandstone, two of chlorite schist and one of talc.

(A) Fragments of Freestanding Buddha Statues

Eighteen pieces were found, nine of which are fragments of torsos – i.e., waists, shoulders or legs. Artifact TG304:15-81 is made of limestone. It was carved with flat, straight stabbing cuts. The right hand of the Buddha shows the varada mudra, the hand gesture of granting wishes. The remaining height of the fragment is 4.5 centimeters. The date of the statue is probably between the Northern Wei Dy-nasty (386-534 CE) and the Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550 CE). Artifact TG304:15-33 is made of limestone. Only the chest portion remains. The left shoulder is covered with a robe, and the right shoul-der and right half of the chest are bare. The shoul-ders are rounded, and the chest is voluminous. The remaining height of the fragment is 20 cm. Collected

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Artifact 118 is made of limestone. It is part of the waist of a freestanding Buddha statue. The waist of the Buddha is narrow and his legs are slim. He wears a thin garment revealing his bodily form. His left hand is raised. A wide piece of cloth is draped over the left arm and hangs down at the side of his body. The remaining height of the fragment is 19.5 cm. Artifact TG105:15-6 is a portion of the legs and feet of a Buddha. It was carved with sweeping cuts. The thin clothes of the Buddha wrap around his body; he wears a long, tight-fitting skirt covered by a robe, the lower hem of which falls in natural folds.

(B) Fragments of Freestanding Bodhisattva Statues

Three pieces were found. Artifacts TG304:15-69 and TG304:15-70 are two limestone fragments of the lower half of a Bodhisattva head. It was carved with flat, straight stabbing cuts. The face of the Bod-hisattva is handsomely rounded with a full jaw, long ears, high-bridged nose and wide nostrils. The rela-tively thin lips are closed in a smile. Ribbons of the headdress hang down behind the ears. The remaining [total] height of the head fragments is 14.5 cm. The reverse side does not show any traces of a mandorla; this suggests that the statue was probably a freestand-ing Bodhisattva (Figure 1). Artifact TG105:15-73 is made of limestone; it consists of a middle portion of a Bodhisattva torso. The robe of the Bodhisattva is thin, with curved draperies hanging downward; the front side of the robe is decorated with high reliefs of spike-like tassels, while the back side is convex and decorated with vertical bar-shaped draperies carved in intaglio. The remaining height of the fragment is 8 cm. The date of the statue is probably between the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the East-ern Wei Dynasty (Figure 2). Collected Artifact 120 is made of limestone and consists of a Bodhisattva statue from the waist down. The draperies of his long skirt fall in zigzag shapes. The skirt is covered with a shawl, which is tied through a ring in front of the

stomach, drapes around the body, and hangs along both sides of the body. The statue also wears tassels that knot in front of the stomach and hang along both sides of the body. The remaining height of the fragment is 22 cm. The statue probably dates to the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 CE) (Figure 3).

(C) Fragments of Statues with Mandorlas

Twenty-three pieces were found. They can be divided into two types: small-scale and large-scale statues.

Two small-scale statues with mandorlas were recovered, both triads consisting of a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. They were carved from chlorite schist. Artifact TG3:15-17 is a fragment of a triad with mandorla. Only the main Buddha figure and a Bodhisattva to its right remain. Their heads are bro-ken off. There are tenons under the bottoms of the figures, which are roughly carved with flat, straight stabbing cuts. The main Buddha is a tall figure with rounded shoulders. The statue wears an undergar-ment with a round collar; a wide-cut robe with a broad belt (kasaya) as an outer robe; and a loose, long skirt hanging down to the feet and showing flared hems. One hand shows the abhaya mudra, the hand gesture of bestowing fearlessness, and the other the gesture of granting wishes. A wide piece of fabric is suspended from the right arm and hangs down at the side of the body. The Buddha is standing barefoot on a round pedestal. The attendant Bod-hisattva on the right has narrow shoulders and wears an outer robe with a crossover front closure, as well as a long skirt with a flared hem. The Bodhisattva also wears a shawl that is crossed in front of the stomach and hangs down at both sides of the body. The round ornament holding the shawl may represent a jade bi-disc. The Bodhisattva stands barefoot on a round pedestal. The remaining height of the fragment is 15 cm. The reverse side of the mandorla is polished to a smooth and glossy finish. It bears an incised

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inscription of which three lines with 10 characters remain: “In the second year of the (Pu)tai reign period [532 CE] / [...] Yang Zhao, female / [...] respectfully commissioned the production of [this statue as an] offering.” The statue probably dates to the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Twenty-one fragments of large-scale statues with mandorlas were found. All were carved from limestone. Collected Artifact 125 is the upper left part of a mandorla. A small section of a halo around the head of the Buddha remains, which is decorated with four concentric bands. The top section of the mandorla shows a flying dragon that holds the stem

of a lotus in its mouth. The shape of the dragon is conjoined with a flame ornament around the mandorla. Below the dragon is a carved figure of an apsara [flying celestial maiden]; her head is raised, back straight, torso bent forward, and knees bent. She holds an object like a lotus bud in her arms. Her flame-like silk sash wafts high above her, as if flying together with the dragon. Next to the figure, the sash of a damaged second apsara is extant. The fragment is 44 cm in remaining height and 14 cm thick. The shape and ornamentation of this mandor-la resemble those of a statue of Maitreya unearthed in Qingzhou, donated by the nun Huizhao in the

Figure 1: Fragments of a freestanding Bodhisattva statue (TG304:15-69, 70)

Figure 3: Fragment of a freestanding Bodhisattva statue (Collected Artifact 120)

Figure 2: Fragment of a freestanding Bodhisattva statue (TG105:15-73)

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first year of the Taichang reign period (532 CE) of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The mandorla fragment probably dates to the late Northern Wei Dynasty (Figure 4). Collected Artifact 114 is the left-hand attendant Bodhisattva of a triad with mandorla. The figure wears a tall headdress with tassels hanging downward. The Bodhisattva has a small mouth, narrow eyes and rounded face. The figure wears a necklace and an undergarment with slanting lapels. A sash binds the Bodhisattva’s waist and falls to the knees; loops are tied in the sash. A long skirt covers the figure’s feet. The Bodhisattva also wears a shawl, which hangs down to the foot of the pedestal. The figure’s right hand shows the gesture of bestowing fearlessness, and the left the gesture of granting wishes. The Bodhisattva stands barefoot on a ped-estal. On the right side of the mandorla, the legs and tail of a dragon are recognizable. The remaining height of the fragment is 42 cm. The statue prob-ably dates between the late Eastern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty (Figure 5). Artifact TG202:216-1 is a fragment of a round halo that was carved with flat, straight stabbing cuts. On its right side, a Buddha stands on a lotus. He has rounded shoulders. His palms are placed together in front of the chest. He wears an undergarment with slant-ing lapels and a thin outer robe with wide sleeves. Below the outer robe he wears a skirt. Around the Buddha, lotus stalks and leaves are carved. The re-maining height of the fragment is 16 cm, and the diameter of the restored halo is 46 cm. The back of the halo is uneven, showing a deep, trapezoidal groove in its center. The width of the groove is be-tween 1.5 cm and 3 cm, and the depth is 2.2 cm. The groove may have been chiseled out during a restoration. The statue probably dates to the East-ern Wei Dynasty. Artifact TG304:15-56 consists of only a head. It seems to be a fragment of an at-tendant Bodhisattva from a triad with mandorla. The Bodhisattva wears a crown, the bands of which hang down beside the ears. The hair at the forehead

Figure 4: Fragment of a large-scale statue with mandorla (Collected Artifact 125)

Figure 5: Fragment of a large-scale statue with mandorla (Collected Artifact 114)

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Figure 6: Lotus base with round pedestal (Collected Artifact 107)

Figure 7: Lotus base with square pedestal (T414:12-1)

Figure 8: Fragment of statue with figures carved in relief (TG304:15-23)

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is arranged in three bows. The figure has rounded cheeks, and the mouth displays a smile. The frag-ment is severely weathered. The remaining height of the fragment is 9.5 cm. The statue probably dates between the late Northern Wei Dynasty and the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

(D) Pedestals of StatuesSix pieces were found. They can be divided into

three types: lotus bases with round pedestals, lotus bases with square pedestals, and square pedestals.

Two lotus bases with round pedestals were found. Collected Artifact 107 is made of limestone and consists of a lotus with two layers of double pet-als carved in high relief on a round base. The remain-ing height of the Artifact is 14.5 cm and its diameter is 30 cm. The side of the round base is incised with an inscription of 54 characters in 13 lines: “故人王□

苻」妻石男□」故人王宝林」故人惠明」妻

焦男」林妻李绯」□息女孝□」□妻□锦」

息男苟生」息女要姜」息女摩耶息」女贰□

」息女□□.” [Translation: The deceased [...] fu Wang, his wife Nan [...] Shi; the deceased Baolin Wang; the deceased Huiming, [his] wife Nanlin Jiao, [his other] wife Fei Li; [...], her daughter [...] Xiao; [his] wife [...] Jin, her son Gousheng, her daughter Yaojiang, her daughter Māyā Xi, her daughter Er [...] [and] her daughter [...]] (Figure 6). Collected Arti-fact 108 is made of limestone and consists of a lotus with two layers of individual petals carved in high relief. There is a mortise on the top of the pedestal for inserting a statue. The height of the pedestal is 21 cm. The pedestal probably dates to the Northern Dynasties (386-581 CE).

Three lotus bases with square pedestals were found. Artifact T414:12-1 is made of limestone. The top of it is carved into an inverted lotus flower with individual petals. The width of the base is 14.5 cm, and its height 9.5 cm. The height of the lotus flower is 5.3 cm. In the middle of the pedestal there is a mortise with a diameter of 4.2 cm (Figure 7).

One square pedestal was found. Artifact T434:69-1 is made of limestone. It is cuboid with a width of 24.5 cm and a height of 8.5 cm. Its top is chiseled into a slightly concave surface with a width of 16 cm. Its sides are polished smooth and checkered by incised thin lines. The front and the left side are incised with 63 characters in intaglio. Each line of the front side consists of four charac-ters, while each line of the left side consists of two to four characters. The inscription reads: “大齐天

统」四年三月」丙申朔八」日癸卯清」信士

佛弟」子张机张」昌兄弟二」人知富可」崇

恐身无」常葛舍家」珍上为忘」父母敬造」

观世」音像」一躯愿」生生世世」常与佛

会.” [Translation: On the eighth day of Gui Mao of the third moon with a new moon day Bing Shen, in the Tiantong reign period of the Great Qi Dynasty [565-570 CE], immaculate [and] devoted disciples of the Buddha Ji Zhang and Chang Zhang, [who are] brothers, know that wealth could pass away [and] are anxious that bodies are not permanent. [Therefore, they] part with their family treasures of superior [quality in order to] respectfully commis-sion the production of one statue of Avalokitasvara for their deceased parents. May they consistently meet the Buddha, life after life and generation after generation.]

(E) Unfinished CarvingsArtifact BK.4 is made of talc with green spots.

The material of the stone is porous and soft. On one side of the artifact, draperies have been deeply carved with a chisel, but some of them are not yet finished. The bottom of the artifact still keeps the original shape of the stone material and is unpro-cessed. Accordingly, the artifact was probably an unfinished statue. The remaining height of the frag-ment is 9 cm. Judging from carving technique and the style of the remaining drapes, the object should date to the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

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(F) Other ArtifactsArtifact TG304:15-23 is made of limestone. On

the front there are two figures carved in high relief. They face each other and sit with one leg pendent and the other raised, with the foot brought to rest on the knee of the pendent leg. The figure on the right side is more completely extant than the one on the left. The head is raised and the back is straight. His hair bun appears to have been arranged into long braids, which hang down from the back of the head; he has a long voluminous face, curved eyebrows and narrow eyes looking to the left. His big nose protrudes from the face, and his small lips appear slightly pouty. His left hand is placed on his right leg, and his right hand holds a bird out in front, as if handing the bird over. The left figure is thin. The head is missing, and the torso inclines slightly forward. His right leg leans against the pedestal, and his right hand is placed on the right leg; his left hand holds a human skull in a pose comparable to the pose of the figure on the right side. Both sides of the base show knob-like ornaments with diameters of about 0.9 cm. The lower part of the pedestal is shaped as a two-level rectangular base. The lower surface is damaged. The width of the fragment is 12 cm, and its depth 7 cm. The upper part of the back is polished smooth, and the lower part is carved into the back of the base. The remaining height of the damaged figures is 10.5 cm. The figures should date to the Northern Qi Dynasty (Figure 8). There is a pictorial motif with one figure holding a small bird and another holding a human skull in the mural of Cave K254 in Dunhuang as well. Some scholars believe that the motif shows Mrgasirsa and Vasistha, but others disagree.

WHITE POTTERY STATUESFour white pottery statue fragments were found,

comprising two statues of Bodhisattvas and two ped-estals. Artifact T413:70-5 is a standing Bodhisattva statue. The head of the statue and the round tenon below it are damaged. The Bodhisattva has rounded

shoulders, a narrow waist, and elegant, long legs. The right hand of the statue holds a lotus bud close to the chest, while the left hand holds an object close to the side of the body. The statue stands barefoot on a round pedestal. The upper part of the body is bare, and the statue wears a necklace made of threaded pearls, which cross in front of the chest. A shawl wraps the shoulders of the statue, runs under the arms and hangs down both sides of the body. The Bodhisattva wears a long skirt, which is covered by a short skirt with a sash binding at the waist. There are traces of fingerprints impressed into the back. The statue was probably formed with the help of a mold. The remaining height of the statue is 8.4 cm. It should date to the Northern Qi Dynasty. Artifact T413:181-4 is a two-level square pedestal. The top of it is carved into the shape of a reversed lotus blossom with double petals. In the center of the blossom there is a round hole, and the pedestal is hollow. The ped-estal was probably formed with the help of a mold. The width of the pedestal is 4 cm, and its remaining height is 1.4 cm.

GRAY POTTERY STATUESThree gray pottery statue fragments were

found. One is a Buddha statue, and the other two are pedestals. Artifact T434:201-6 is a fragment of a seated Buddha. The head is damaged. He wears an undergarment with his right shoulder bare and a kasaya covering his left shoulder. One hand shows the gesture of bestowing fearlessness, and the other the gesture of granting wishes. He sits in the lotus position on a round pedestal. His arms and legs are voluminous and thick. His back leans against a man-dorla, which includes the contours of an oval full-body halo. The border of the mandorla is decorated with plant-shaped ornaments. The reverse side of the mandorla is convex. The remaining height of the fragmented statue is 8.4 cm. This statue was mod-eled by hand and then fired; the modeling is plain and free-form. The statue could possibly date to the

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Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). Artifact T413:178-2 is a lotus base. It was modeled by hand. The base is in the form of an inverted hollow conical frustum. Its underside is flat, and its upper part is fragmented. The side of the pedestal is decorated with four lay-ers of lotus petals. The width of each petal is 10 cm. The height of the base is 19.5 cm; its diameter after restoration is 78 cm; and its wall thickness is 12 cm. The lotus base was probably produced by a local pottery kiln.

SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE SCULPTURES

(A) Material of the Stone StatuesMost of the stone statues found in the Bailong

Temple were carved from local limestone. Due to its low degree of hardness, the stone could have been carved directly with iron tools. The limestone used for the Bailong Temple statues is quite similar to the material chosen for statues at several other sites, such as the Longxing Temple[2] and the Xingguo Temple[3] in Qingzhou City, as well as the Mingdao Temple in Linqu County.[4]

In addition, two small-scale statues with man-dorlas were carved from chlorite schist containing muscovite, magnetite and garnet. This type of stone can be found in the vicinity of the Bailong Temple. However, their material, size, carving style and the relatively ordinary calligraphic quality of their in-scriptions all resemble features of several statues found at the site of the Mingdao Temple in Linqu County. The two fragments may originate from a Mingdao Temple workshop.

(B) Carving TechniquesThe stone statues found at the site were general-

ly carved out of single pieces of stone. The pedestals were produced separately, providing a mortise for the tenons of the statues. In many cases, the carving skills of the craftsmen appear advanced, the strokes

of the chisel natural and fluent, and the ornamenta-tion elaborate and delicate. We observed two kinds of chiseling methods. Earlier statues were carved with flat, straight stabbing cuts, and the lines were chiseled in a single stroke. This resulted in relief carvings with clear and straight surfaces, and sharp edges and corners. The carvings of later statues were made by running the chisel several times along each cut. This procedure resulted in soft, smooth carv-ing surfaces. Many statues bear traces of colors and gilding.

(C) Pottery StatuesThe white pottery statues are made of a relatively

porous and soft buff material, indicating that the stat-ues were fired at low temperature. The statues might have been painted with colors.

Similar white pottery statues were found in the Longhua Temple in Boxing County;[5] at the Xujiamiao site in Gaoqing County;[6] and in Linqu County.[7] The raw material for producing these white pottery Buddhist statues was porcelain clay. Furthermore, the technique of unglazed firing was applied during their production. Nevertheless, due to the unglazed surface of the ware and the relatively low degree of sintering of the body, they should still be called pottery statues. Due to the small amount of unearthed pottery, we can only preliminarily suggest that the majority of the white pottery Buddhas were locally produced.[8] The white pottery statues were made of fired porcelain clay, and their shapes and sizes are largely similar. But there is no raw material for porcelain clay near the sites where white pottery statues were found. Therefore, the provenance of the statues might be associated with porcelain kilns. A relatively large amount of white buff pottery has been found at the Houli site in Linzi District, Zibo City and the Long-hua Temple in Boxing County. Their raw materials and firing temperature correspond relatively closely to those of the excavated white pottery statues [dis-

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cussed in this article], providing clues about the production locale of the white pottery statues. We preliminarily suggest that they were produced by kilns in the Zibo City area.

The gray pottery statue fragments were fash-ioned by hand without a mold, and then fired. Their material and methods of production are similar to those of the bricks and roof tiles found at the excava-tion site. They were likely produced locally, perhaps in the kilns northeast of the temple ruins.

(D) Sizes of the StatuesThe statues found at the site are of various sizes.

Some of them are nearly life-size, and some rather small, sometimes only a few centimeters high. It has not been possible to identify the main statue of the temple based on size.

(E) Dates of the StatuesAt the site, two statue fragments with chronicle

records were unearthed that mention dates. One refers to the second year of the Putai reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty (532 CE), while the other mentions the fourth year of the Tiantong reign of the Northern Qi Dynasty (568 CE). Three statues that were collected in situ before the excavation and stored in the Museum of Linqu County also carry dated inscriptions. The first one, the fragment of a mandorla, is engraved with “the Xiaochang reign of the Great Wei Dynasty” (525-527 CE); the second one, another fragment of a mandorla, is incised with “the second year of the Xinghe reign” (540 CE); the third one, a square lotus base, is inscribed with “the seventh year of the Wuping reign” (576 CE).

Judging from the sculptural style of the statues and clothes, and from the chiseling methods, 19 of the more than 200 sculpture fragments undoubtedly date between the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Eastern Wei Dynasty (ca. 520-550 CE), while 14 fragments certainly date to the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 CE). Except for one Buddha statue made

of gray pottery, which may date to the Tang Dynasty, none of the other statues seem to date later than the Sui Dynasty (581-619 CE).

(F) State of PreservationAll statues discovered in the Bailong Temple

were severely damaged. Most of them are relatively small fragments, while the largest one is 40 cm tall. Some individual statues were more than 20 cm thick; therefore, their destruction would have required great strength or repeated blows with a relatively large tool. All heads of statues in the temple were knocked off. Only a few heads of Buddhas or Bod-hisattvas have been found. Of the ones recovered, all the faces were smashed. These observations point to intentional destruction of the images, and may relate to periods of large scale persecution of Buddhists in history.

From the late Northern Wei Dynasty to the Northern Qi Dynasty, statues were widely produced in the area of Shandong. Large numbers of Buddhist statues of this period have been found. Comparing the Bailong statues with those found in the Longxing Temple in Qingzhou City or the Mingdao Temple in Linqu County, one can make the following ob-servations: First of all, the statues of the Bailong Temple are of smaller size, possibly reflecting the small dimensions and the low rank of the Bailong Temple as a village temple. Secondly, traces of re-pairs were found on only two of the Bailong statues, which points to a relatively short period of use. Many statues from Longxing Temple in Qingzhou City had been repaired multiple times, indicating that they were used for centuries. Finally, it appears that the statue fragments at the Bailong Temple site were scattered and discarded, and later some were depos-ited in ash pits. This differs from the situation at both Longxing Temple in Qingzhou City and Mingdao Temple in Linqu County, where the statues were buried in an orderly manner in deliberately prepared storage sites.

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References Cited

[1] Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. 2014. “Shandong Linqu Bailongsi yizhi fajue jianbao” 山东临朐白龙寺遗址发掘简报 (A Preliminary Excavation Report of the Site of Bailong Temple in Linqu County, Shandong Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 1.

[2] Qingzhou Municipal Museum, Shandong Province. 1998. “Qingzhou Longxingsi fojiao zaoxiang jiaocang qiangli jianbao” 青州龙兴寺佛教造像窖藏清理简报 (A Preliminary Report of the Hoard of Buddhist Statues at Longxing Temple in Qingzhou City). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 2.

Qingzhou Municipal Museum. 1999. Qingzhoushi Longxingsi fojiao zaoxiang yishu 青州市龙兴寺佛教造像 艺术 (The Art of Buddhist Statues of Longxing Temple in Qingzhou City). Shandong Provincial Press of Fine Art, Jinan.

Beijing World Art Museum and Qingzhou Municipal Museum. 2002. Qingzhou Beichao fojiao zaoxiang 青州北朝佛教造像 (Buddhist Statues of the Northern Dynasties in Qingzhou). Press of Beijing, Beijing.

[3] Xia, Mingcai and Mingjun Zhuang. 1996. “Shandong Qingzhou Xingguosi guzhi chutu shizaoxiang” 山东青州兴国寺故址出土石造像 (Stone Statues Excavated from the Site of Xingguo Temple in Qingzhou City, Shandong Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 5.

[4] Linqu County Museum. 2002. “Shandong Linqu Mingdaosi shelita digong fojiao zaoxiang qingli jianbao” 山东临朐明道寺舍利塔地宫佛教造像清理简报 (A Preliminary Report of the Buddhist Statues from the Underground Palace of the Relic Pagoda at Daoming Temple in Linqu County, Shandong Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 9.

[5] Chang, Xuzheng and Shaonan Li. 1983. “Shandong Boxingxian chutu yipi Beichao zaoxiang” 山东博兴县出土一批北朝造像 (Discovery of Statues Dating to the Northern Dynasties in Boxing County, Shandong Province). Wenwu 文物 (Cultural Relics) No. 7.

Boxing County Cultural Relics Administration, Shandong Province. 1986. “Shandong Boxing Longhuasi yizhi diaocha jianbao” 山东博兴龙华寺遗址调查简报 (A Preliminary Survey Report of the Site of Longhua Temple in Boxing County, Shandong Province). Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) No. 9.

Zhang, Sumin. 2011. “Shandong Boxing Longhuasi yizhi baitao fojiao zaoxiang” 山东博兴龙华寺遗址白陶佛教造像 (Buddhist Statues Made of White Pottery from the Site of Longhua Temple in Boxing County, Shandong Province). In Shandong baitao fojiao zaoxiang 山东白陶佛教造像 (Buddhist Statues Made of White Pottery of Shandong Province). Cultural Relics Press, Beijing.

[6] Yu, Qiuwei. 2011. “Shandong Gaoqing Xujiamiao yizhi baitao fojiao zaoxiang” 山东高青胥家庙遗址白陶佛教造像 (Buddhist Statues Made of White Pottery from the Site of Xujiamiao in Gaoqing County, Shandong). In Shandong baitao fojiao zaoxiang 山东白陶佛教造像 (Buddhist Statues Made of White Pottery of Shandong Province). Cultural Relics Press, Beijing.

[7] The collection of the Linqu County Museum contains a white pottery statue of unknown provenance.

[8] Xiao, Guitian. 2011. “Baitaofo yu tuofo kao” 白陶佛与脱佛考 (A Study on Buddha Statues Made of White Pottery and Buddha Statues Made by Press-Casting Process). In Shandong baitao fojiao zaoxiang 山东白陶佛教造像 (Buddhist Statues Made of White Pottery of Shandong Province). Cultural Relics Press, Beijing.

Wenwu (Cultural Relics) Editor: Qian Dai

Translated by Hui Sun, Ph.D. Candidate, Institute of Chinese Studies, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg

This article was originally published in Wenwu (Cultural Relics) No. 1, 2014, pp. 82-87

Chinese Cultural Relics No. 2-4, 2014. Copyright East View Press. All rights reserved. www.eastviewpress.com/Journals/CulturalRelics.aspx