During the T'ang and Sung dynasties, Yunnan was an independent country. The Meng founded the Nanzhao kingdom (653-902), and the Tuan founded the Dali (937-1254). Both royal families of these two Yunnanese kingdoms were earnest patrons of Buddhism. Buddhism thus flourished in Yunnan from the mid of the seventh to thirteenth centuries. However, only few historical records regarding the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms have survived to the present day, and the local geographic accounts written in the Yuan and Ming period are not dependable since they are full of myths and legendary stories. In consequence, the archaeological findings, Buddhist caves, relief sculptures, and Buddhist paintings of the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms became extremely valuable for our understanding of Yunnese Buddhism in the medieval period. The Yunnan province adjacent to Tibet is located in the southwestern frontier of China; many Buddhist missionaries arrived in Yunnan from India in the west, through Burma in the south, and from the east via Sichuan. Accordingly, Buddhism and Buddhist art of the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms adopted various elements from China, India and Southeast Asia. However, Tibetan influence on early Yunnese Buddhism and Buddhist art is rarely seen. Generally speaking, early Yunnanese Buddhist art can be divided into three stylistic periods. The art of the early and middle periods was highly influenced by the art of Central China while the art of the late period was distinguished by its own regional characteristics. The study of this project shows that there are three categories of Buddhism in the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms, namely, exoteric Buddhism, esoteric Buddhism, and Yunnanese regional Buddhism. It is particularly noteworthy that some Buddhist icons have survived only in Yunnan but not elsewhere in Asia. It is evident that the study of the Nanzhao and Dali Buddhism art is very important not only for our understanding of Chinese Buddhist art also Pan-Asian Buddhist art.
