Buddhist art is different from other forms of art in that it is not only a creation, it is a cultural phenomenon influenced by strict norms and accumulated senses of beliefs in addition to the form expression originally presented in art, and that it has a strong religious character. Buddhism originated from India. Buddha, receiving Greek influence, has Gandhara style inspired by Western sculpture art with realism while inheriting Mathura sculpture art existed locally in India. Even though there is regional difference in terms of presentation of Buddha, it is a fixed form that Buddha clothing goes past one shoulder while the right shoulder is bare. Buddhist art in early North Dynasties had a strong exotic style due to the influences from Indian sculpture art. However, during the diffusion process of Buddhism, the Han region used its own local culture and sculpture technique to integrate the foreign Buddha under Dhammathats and the domestic ethnicity, gradually developing a style of Buddha that is unique in the Han region. The production of the Han style of Buddhist clothing has its own historical background and cultural significance. This study is about the clothing on Buddha, using the gold and bronze Buddha in Northern Dynasties as the scope to explore the formation of Han-styled Buddhist clothing. First, we explore the draped standards of Buddhist clothing from Dhammathats to analyze the origins of Buddha clothing style from India. Next, we discuss the origins of gold and bronze Buddha built in China to understand the Buddhism culture and the Han-inspired conversion background during the Northern Dynasties. We come to the following conclusions: Given that all gold and bronze Buddha statues during Northern Dynasties had the“drapery”as the style of their Buddhist clothing,“shawl”,“loose garment with long band”and “shoulder covering and hanging down”styles were all the ethnic evolution that foreign Buddhist clothing had in order to adapt to the specific ethnic customs, while not totally losing the connection with precepts. Monk’s toga is defined as having sleeves and collar. Comparing literature with statues in Northern Dynasties, it is inferred that“shawl”is based on the evolution of “bare right shoulder”style rather than on monk’s toga. The change in clothing material on Ganesha is one of the important factors determining the characteristics of draping clothing on gold and bronze Buddha statues. This study wishes to provide contribution to the research on gold and bronze Buddha statues by compiling information on the Buddhist clothing styles on gold and bronze Buddha statues during Northern Dynasties.
