西夏時期敦煌涅槃變中的撫足者 - 西夏石窟考古與藝術研究之四=On the Figure Who Touches the Buddha’s Feet in the Nirvana Illustrations Depicted in Dunhuang Caves from the Western Xia Dynasty - Archaeology and Art Research of the Western Xia Caves(Ⅳ)
Focusing on the Nirvana illustrations in Dunhuang caves during the Western Xia dynasty, and by investigations of the nirvana illustrations in cave 7 at the Western Thousand-Buddha Grottoes, caves 2 and 3 at the Yulin Grottoes, caves 2, 5 and 7 at the Eastern Thousand-Buddha Grottoes, and cave 1 at the Five Temple Grottoes, this paper discusses changes in the depiction of the figure touching the Buddha’s feet. On the basis of this material, the author divides the pictures of this figure into three types and comes to the conclusion that this new image of an elder noble represents Jivaka, an Indian physician, and that these changes were concomitant with the changes in Buddhist thought that began in the Northern Song dynasty.
