The Buddhist grottoes at Gongxian in Henan Province, China, consist of five grottoes opened in the early sixth century. Although these caves are small in scale they are one of the most representative temple-grotto complexes of the Northern Wei dynasty. On the inner and outer walls of the five grottoes are some 330 extant niches carved with Buddhist images. These niches date from the original consecration of the Gongxian Grottoes complex in the Northern Wei through the Eastern and Western Wei, Northern Qi, Early Tang, Middle Tang, Late Tang, and Song Dynasties. Because of its immediate proximity only fifty kilometers east of the Northern Wei capital at Luoyang, the Gongxian Grottoes were strongly influenced by the historical changes occuring in Luoyang from the sixth through seventh century. Investigation of the many miniature Buddhist niches provides a valuable means for observing these changes in concrete terms. The present essay examines the style of the central images— in particular seated Buddhas — in small Buddhist niches in the Gongxian Grottoes carved from the 650s through the 670s after nearly a century of inactivity beginning in the mid-sixth century. The sculptural of such Buddhist images can be analyzed by looking at several important features, including the halo, pedestal, costume, seated posture, and hand gesture (mudrā). Among these, the seated posture and costume in particular clearly display the special characteristics of the style of early Tang Buddhist images. Early Tang images of seated nyaşīdat paryań kam ābhujya pose (folded-leg pose) Buddhas feature one raised leg which seems to be completely wrapped in the cloth of the figure's robe. This basic form can be seen early in Changan (Xian) of the Early Tang, and becomes widespread in other regions by the High Tang. At Gongxian there are examples of Buddhist sculptures of this type dating from as early as the 650s, when carving was resumed at the Gongxian Grottoes. The resumption of activity at Gongxian after a period of inactivity came under the direct influence of the Changan area. Although sculptural activity in the Early Tang at the grottoes of Longmen recommenced earlier than at nearby Gongxian, the sculptural form described above did not appear until after the 670s, indicating a lapse in the time that the same sculptural style was employed at the two grotto complexes. The same sort of tendency can be identified in the style of the pedestal and in other motifs besides the seated posture and costume. This indicates that the grottoes of Longmen, which were the most active site of Buddhist imagemaking in the Luoyang region, were not necessarily related to the grottoes of Gongxian only as a point of transmission of sculptural style. Rather, this demonstrates the strong influence that images in the Early Tang from Changan had on sculptural style in other regions, and at the same time demonstrates the complex relationship between Changan and various regions, in which different regional circumstances contributed to independent regional styles. The so-called Early Tang style of Buddhist sculpture thus began in Changan, and spread not only within China but also to Korean and Japan, creating an international style. Nevertheless, an understanding of the diffusion of Early Tang sculptural style should be reached with a thorough awareness of the individual circumstances of the transmission from region to region.
