In studying the establishment of the style of Chinese sculpture in the Sung Dynasty, research on that of the preceding Five Dynasties is indispensable. The writer in this article discusses the characteristics of Five Dynasties sculpture with special reference to existing dated examples. Among specimens from the Late T'ang period, the stone Buddha dated the year Tien-yu 3 (A. D. 905) retains much of the T'ang style but its hair as well as its robe with the lower end reaching over the pedestal reveal traits of its age. The stone Buddha dated Lung-chi 1 (889) in the Freer Gallery also shows a similar rigid, stylized treatment of the robe. There is also a gilt bronze statue of seated Buddha which resembles the 905 statue in the form of its hair, and the form of its pedestal, too, shows a characteristic of the period from Late T'ang to Five Dynasties. Such Late T'ang style carried on into the first part of the Five Dynasties, as is typified by the stone Buddha and iron Bodhisattva, both dated Tung-kuang 2 (924), which are mentioned in this article. It should be noted, however, that the frequent making of such iron statues was one of the characteristics of the Five Dynasties. The appearance of round haloes is also noteworthy. What is the most important in discussing about sculptural style of the Five Dynasties is its varied aspects in different localities. Chronologically it was as late as the second half of the period that the full characteristics of Five Dynasties sculpture actually made their appearance. The stone Buddha dated T'ien-pu 7 (934) described in this article, characterized by a delicate, considerably graphic representation, manifests a new style which is different from that of the above-cited examples. Comparison with the relief carvings on the pagoda-shaped reliquary in Seika-ji Temple, and the relief images of the Sung Dynasty in the Ch‘ing-lin-tung at Fei-lai-fêng also proves that it is rich in that delicate, graceful effect which characterizes Sung sculpture. It is evident, through comparison with the statues excavated from the Wan-fo-t‘a (Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas) at Chin-hua, Chê-chiang-shêng and from the Huch‘iu-t‘a (Tiger Hill Pagoda) at Su-chou, Chiangsu-shêng, that this style grew up in the Chiang-nan (south of the Yang-tzū) regions. To summarise, the Five Dynasties was a sort of transitional epoch in the history of Chinese sculpture, but was a fresh, spirited period during which the new Sung style was created to replace the lingerping remnants of the preceding T‘ang mode.
