The three-colored Arhat group statues originally hidden in the Eight Buddha Caves in Yixian County, Hebei Province, were lost overseas in the early years and are now scattered in museums in many western countries. At the end of 2015, during a visit to the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada, I saw one of the three-colored Arhat statues in the Collection of the Royal Ontario Museum (hereinafter referred to as ROM). It is prominently located on the inside of the entrance to the museum's East Asian Artifacts Exhibition Hall, and the open display allows visitors to see it up close and without obstacles.
Three-colored Arhat Statue Front, Side, Back Liaojin Period, 10th-13th century AD 126.5 cm High 126.5 cm Collection of the Royal Ontario Museum of Canada
Through many observations of the Arhat statues in the ROM, the author has developed a strong interest in the two issues of the age and origin of these three-colored Arhat statues, as well as the original storage place. The following is to take the collection of ROM as the starting point, combined with relevant information, to discuss some personal views, in order to supplement and expand the understanding of these two issues.
Correction of chronology and origin
The Yixian Sancai Luohan Statue was once considered to be a Tang Dynasty work, but with the formation of the academic understanding that the Sixteen Luohan Statues were popular in the Five Dynasties of the Northern Song Dynasty, and contrary to the phenomenon that Tang Sancai was mainly funerary in archaeological discoveries, the Yixian Sancai Luohan Statue was basically denied as a Relic of the Tang Dynasty. Perzynski, a German who first reported on the statues, saw them coexisting with the Blue and White Porcelain Incense Burner in the Yuan Dynasty style when he discovered them, thus deducing that the statues of the Arhats were hidden here in the Yuan Dynasty as late as the 13th century. Therefore, most scholars agree that the Yixian Sancai Luohan statue is a relic of the Song and Liaojin dynasties.
In the 1980s, a number of Three-Colored Artifacts and Fragments from the Liao-Jin Dynasty were unearthed in Longquanwu Village, Mentougou District, Beijing, including one painted Buddha statue and two three-colored bodhisattva statues. American scholar Marilyn Gridley (Marilyn Gridley) after the style comparison, believes that the Yixian Sancai Luohan statue should be produced in the Longquanwu area, and pointed out that although the Chifeng cylinder tile kiln located in the territory of the Liao State has also found the Sancai kiln, but due to the distance and the product has not seen the Buddha statue, the Yixian Sancai Luohan statue is unlikely to be produced by the kiln. Later, when the Longquan Wu kiln was officially excavated, archaeologists found fragments of sancai Buddha statues in the stratigraphic accumulation, and due to physical evidence, it is believed that the Three Colored Arhat statues in Yixian County were produced by more followers of the Longquan Wu kiln, and the author also agrees with this understanding.
However, when linking the two together, scholars tend to pay more attention to the overall style and ignore the carriers of this style - carcass and glaze. After repeated observation of the ROM collection, the author believes that it is possible to start from the detailed characteristics of the tire glaze to further consolidate the understanding that the Three-colored Luohan Statue of Yixian is produced in the Longquan Wu Kiln.
Carcass characteristics: ROM Tibetan sancai arhat statue has the phenomenon of glaze shedding on the back, and from the left side of the back shawl where the glaze has fallen off relatively much, it has revealed a clear ceramic carcass.
The Royal Ontario Museum of Canada holds a section on the left side of the back of the Statue of The Arhat
The exposed carcass, which is denser in structure and has a lighter brick red color, is similar to the exposed tires of the broken arms of the three-colored bodhisattva statue collected by the Longquan Wu kiln and the torso of the painted Buddha statue.
Three-colored bodhisattva statue collected from the Longquan Wu kiln
Painted Buddha statues collected from the Longquan Wu Kiln
In the Central Plains, the Song and Jin Dynasty Sancai vessels represented by the Gongyi Zhitian Song Sancai Kiln Site and the Zibo Street Jin Sancai Kiln Site have a tire quality close to porcelain, and the tire color is mainly white, reddish brown or pink, which is quite different from the Yixian Sancai Luohan Statue.
Glaze characteristics: Yixian Sancai Luohan statue surface glaze to green, yellow, white mainly, from the publication of several Luohan statues, their glaze is clean, glaze color boundaries are clear, color contrast is strong, basically do not see the phenomenon of different colors glaze layer blending phenomenon, which is basically consistent with the glaze characteristics of the Sancai Bodhisattva statue collected at the Longquan Wu kiln site.
Three-colored Luohan Statue during the Liaojin Dynasty, 10th to 13th century AD 104.8 cm tall Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Three-colored Luohan statue during the Liaojin Period, 10th to 13th century AD 127 cm tall Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Based on careful observation of the ROM collection, the author not only firms up this view, but also can clearly perceive that its glaze has a high gloss, and these are the glaze characteristics of the typical Liao Sancai, which are significantly different from the characteristics of Song Sancai's emphasis on the natural blending of colors and the change of intensity and lightness.
Three-colored Arhat Statue during the Liaojin Dynasty, 10th to 13th century AD 103 cm tall Collection of the British Museum
Therefore, whether it is the style of the statue or the characteristics of the tire glaze, the origin of the Three-colored Luohan Statue in Yixian County is pointed to the Longquan Wu kiln. Although this inference is still likely to be broken by new archaeological discoveries in the future, it seems that it is most likely to have originated in the Longquan Wu kiln. Excavators of the Longquan Wu kiln have proposed that the firing of the sancai vessel of the kiln began in the second period, ranging from about liaoxingzong to the early liao daozong (about 1032-1063 AD), and the collected painted Buddha statues and sancai bodhisattva statues belong to the third period, and the dating range is about the middle and late Liao Daozong to the early jin dynasty (about 1065~1125 AD). This phased conclusion has puzzled the author, and the collection of painted Buddha statues and three-colored bodhisattva statues seems to theoretically go back to the second period of the Longquan Wu kiln.
Three-colored Luohan statue Liaojin period, 10th to 13th century AD 123 cm tall Collection of the Museum of Asian Art in Guimet, France
Ge Wulian believes that the two bodhisattva statues collected by the Longquan Wu kiln may be works of the late 10th century, and although the overall style of the Yixian Sancai Arhat statue is similar to it, it may be slightly later, that is, from the end of the 10th century to the 11330s, and its lower age limit is exactly the beginning of the second phase of the Longquan Wu kiln. According to GuRdjieff's point of view, the date of the production of sancai ware in the Longquan Wu kiln was advanced to the end of the 10th century, and in the absence of sufficient archaeological evidence, we dare not easily draw this conclusion. But on the other hand, it is acceptable to trace the firing dates of the painted Buddha statues, sancai bodhisattva statues and Yixian sancai arhat statues collected by the Longquan Wu kiln to the second phase of the excavation at the kiln site.
Re-unravel the original storage place
On the question of the original storage site of the Sancai Arhat statue in Yi county, scholars represented by Pajinsky believe that it was affected by the Mongol war and moved here from other regions; Richard Smithies believes that this group of arhats may have been transferred from the Taiyuan area or the Buddhist temple on Mount Wutai to the hidden treasures in the mountains of northwestern Yizhou during the Northern Song Dynasty's attack on the Northern Han Dynasty (951~979 AD).
I agree with their starting point, which is that these arhats seem to have migrated here under the threat of war. However, according to the inference of the origin of these Arhat statues in the previous article, its firing time seems to be earlier than that of the Northern Han Dynasty. Moreover, the clay sculptures of the Wutaishan Nanchan Temple, foguang temple and Pingyao Zhenguo Temple in the five dynasties of the late Tang Dynasty (907~960 AD) are all images of the disciples of the Buddha's side, and no group portraits of the arhats have been seen, so Richard Smith's speculation is debatable.
Since no documentary records have been found so far, it is currently impossible to accurately locate the original storage place of the Sancai Luohan statue in Yixian County, and various studies are useful explorations. The following is the author's inference to further trace the original storage place of the Sancai Luohan statue in Yixian County.
The course of the war advance
The Mongol war against Jin began in the fourth year of Jiading (1211 AD), and then gradually moved south, occupying Jinzhongdu in the eighth year of Jiading (1215 AD), and occupying Jin Nanjing (i.e., Northern Song Dynasty Beijing) in the first year of Duanping (1234 AD), and the Jin state collapsed. Although there were local strategic adjustments or detours in the war, its propulsion route was generally from north to south.
According to local records, Yizhou was captured by Mongol troops in the sixth year of Jiading (1213 AD). Therefore, if the Yixian Sancai Arhat statue had been transferred here during the Mongol extinction of the Jin Dynasty, it would have been more likely to have moved from the northern region between 1211 and 1213, while it is unlikely that the Jinzhong region on the west side of the Taihang Mountains would have moved northeast to this place, let alone from the southern region to the north in the face of the army.
At the same time, we should also note another possibility. According to the speculation that the threat of war is from north to south, if the Sancai Luohan statue in Yixian was burned around the middle of the Liao Dynasty, it may also have been transferred from the area north of Yixian from the threat of war in the late Liao and early Jin dynasties. The jin war against liao began in the fifth year of Zhenghe (1115 AD), from the northeast to the south of the Great Wall, Xuanhe sixth year (1124 AD) to occupy Liaoning Nanjing and Xijing, its route is roughly from north to south, if this is yixian sancai luohan statue may also be shortly before the Jin army captured Liao Nanjing, Xijing in 1124, to Shaoxing three years (1133 AD) to capture Yizhou, transferred from the northern region.
Statue of Luohan in the Liaojin period in Datong region
If the Three Colored Arhats of Yi County seem to have migrated from the area north of Yi County, then the more likely original storage places are the Yunzhou area (Liao, Jinxijing) and Youzhou area (Liaoning Nanjing, Jinzhongdu), where Buddhist beliefs are extremely prosperous.
First, let's look at Yunzhou, which is now the Datong region of Shanxi. Buddhism flourished in the Datong region, and Buddhist statues, chiseled or sculpted, have been popular since the Northern Wei Dynasty (386~534 AD). The Buddhist statues that survive in the Datong area to this day do belong to the Liaojin period, when represented by the Liao Dynasty painted statues of the Bhagavad Gita Hall of the Huayan Temple and the Jin Dynasty statues of the Daxiong Treasure Hall of Shanhua Temple, the images of the Arhats in these statue groups mostly appear as the disciples of the Buddha's side, and the statues of the Arhats are not seen. During the Liaojin Dynasty, the group statues of Luohan were not yet popular here, so it is unlikely that the Sancai Luohan statues in Yixian County came from the Datong region. Moreover, Datong was about 300 kilometers away from Yi County, and under the traffic conditions at that time, it seemed very unwise to cross the Taihang Mountains and transport these huge Luohans over long distances.
Buddhist activities during the Liaojin period in Beijing
The Beijing area, known as Guyou prefecture, is the seat of the capitals of Nanjing and Jinzhong in Liaoning. From the archaeological findings in this area during the Liaojin period, it can be seen that the buddhist faith flourished at that time, especially by the ruling class of the Liao Dynasty, and Buddhism developed rapidly in the Liao Dynasty. In the Liao Dynasty, the Nanjing area built temples under the patronage and advocacy of the imperial family, and if there was a temple, it was necessary to enshrine Buddha statues. Although most of the temples have long been lost in the long river of history, they have left a large number of stone inscriptions. During the reign of Emperor Daozong of Liao (reigned 1055~1101 AD), he ordered the renovation of the Yanjing Dahaotian Temple, and in the third year of the Xianyong Dynasty (1067 AD), Wang Guanfeng, a scholar of Hanlin, wrote the "Monument to the Great Haotian Temple in Yanjing" Yun:
"Yan for the big state... There is a former princess house also... A yudu, changed to a temple. Zhao Wang Xing himself supervises the craftsmen, zi jin, potters, gold, painted... The rise of the Zhongguang Hall is like the eyes of the Three Saints... Sixteen voices are heard, listed in the west and east. ”
"Shengwen" can be translated as disciple, and also refers to the disciple who has heard the Buddha's teachings and attained enlightenment, which is expressed in terms of "sixteen", which should mean "sixteen arhats". This is the earliest and clearly documented temple dedicated to the statues of the Arhats in the Liaojin Period, dating back to the mid-11th century or a little later, which coincided with the inference that the Longquan Wu kiln may have fired sancai Buddhist statues.
In the Buddhist temple inscriptions in the surrounding area of Nanjing, Liaoning, there are also records of statues of Arhats, such as the "Hongfu Temple Stele" (located in present-day Gaobeidian, Hebei) in the sixth year of Xianyong (1070 AD): "There are two seats in the east and west chambers, and there are more than fifty statues of arhats in the inner sculpture, which can be described as a special and exquisite appearance." In the third year of the reign of Qian Tong (1103 AD), the Records of the Restoration of the Sacred Pagoda In Yizhou reads: "Sixteen statues of the Plastic Arhat are placed in the East Hall." "Although it cannot be inferred that the Yixian Sancai Arhat statue comes from these temples, at least it can point us to the general location of the original storage place."
In addition to the temple, the engraving activities of Fangshan Yunju Temple in the Liaojin period are also worth mentioning. According to Kao, the engraving of the Yunju Temple began in the Sui and Tang dynasties and continued until the Ming and Qing dynasties, and flourished with the support of the emperor in the middle and late Liao Dynasty. These stone carved Buddhist scriptures are mostly hidden in the nine caves on the stone scripture mountain behind Yunju Temple after they are carved, and some are buried under the Yunju Temple, the first and second caves may have been excavated in the Liaojin period, and other caves also have stone scriptures carved in the Liaojin period and put in.
Although there is no direct connection between the inscription and the Yixian Sancai Arhat Statue, the initiative to store Buddhist relics seems to be somewhat similar to the way the Yixian Sancai Arhat is hidden. When the war was about to burn into this area, the monks in the temples in the capital city may have borrowed from the practice of hiding stone scriptures, and found an excellent cave group in the northwest of Yizhou, more than a hundred miles southwest of Nanjing (Jinzhongdu) in Liaoning and on the east side of the Taihang Mountains, and the west of YiXian was placed in Louting County in the Tang Dynasty, and there was an official road ridge mountain road that could connect Yizhou, so the Statue of Luohan was transported here for hiding. For various reasons, they never returned to their original places, and gradually became the Buddha statues that the local people always worshipped, so that they were recorded in later local chronicles, and this tranquility was not broken by outsiders until the beginning of the 20th century.
epilogue
After comprehensively analyzing the available data, the author deduces that the Yixian Sancai Luohan statue should be the product of the Longquan Wu kiln in the first half of the 11th century, and enshrined in Nanjing, Liaoning, that is, later Jinzhongdu, or in the Buddhist temples in the surrounding area. Before the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao and was about to capture Nanjing, until the fall of Yizhou, or before the fall of the Mongols, the Buddhist temples in the above areas were transferred to caves in the northwest of Yizhou. In the choice of hiding places, the transporters may not have abandoned them casually, they may have borrowed from the practice of hiding stone scriptures in Yunju Temple, and chose the Yizhou mountains that are relatively close and have roughly similar terrain.
However, as for the question of the original storage place, various inferences can only be listed as a public case, and it is impossible to talk about which is right and wrong. It is hoped that one day, the inferences in this article will be further confirmed or explained, with a view to making Yixian Sancai Arhats look like a public theory closer to historical truth.