It has been clarified through the systematization and study of archaeologically disco- vered and handed-down legendary coin-shedding tree and Buddha images that these objects were products in the Han cultural circle centered on the Sichuan Basin and prevailed mainly in the late Eastern Han to Shu Han period.In the 2nd and 3nd centuries C.E.,distinct difference appeared between the early Buddha images in the upper Yangtze River and those in the middle and lower valley of the River.There must have been no direct inheritance as the spread of Buddhism in these regions was very probably via different routes.The cultural meanings of coin-shedding tree and Buddha images in southwestern China should be explored by connecting these representations with the worship of Queen Mother of the West and God Kunlun and the symbolic meanings of the Heaven gate and Heaven column in China’s traditional culture, as well as the fashion of "pursuing Buddhahood" prevailing at that time.
