The iconography of Vairocana Buddha, an important and common character in Chinese Buddhist art, has been a focus of religious studies for some time, leading to many outstanding research achievements. According to these research results, the iconographical characters of Vairocana Buddha can be classified by region into three systems: Khotan, Qiuci( today’s Kucha), and the Central Plains. Considering the vastness of the Central Plains, an investigation of iconographical works originating from different sub-regions together with careful examination of relevant documents and materials would do much to clarify the regional development of the belief in the Huayan pure land(Avatamsaka). Based on previous research results and focusing on the social background of religious development, including the origin of artworks and inheritance of relevant scriptures,this paper attempts to fully investigate the emergence of Huayan pure land faith and construct a full diagram of the historical development of Buddhism in the Central Plains.
