The essay treats the theme of the representation of the events surrounding the birth of the Buddha and the ceremonies commemorating these episodes in India, China, Korea and Japan. It deals in particular with a specific iconology associated with the episode of the Seven Steps, which depicts the child Buddha with the right arm aloft and the left pointing to the earth in the act of proclaiming his superiority over the whole universe. This image is unknown in the Indian cultural context and is still the object of celebrations held on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and South-East Asian lunar calendar. The study examines the earliest Chinese translations of the life of the Buddha (Xiuxing benqi jing, Taizi ruiying benqi jing) and other Chinese primary sources describing the cerimonies commemorating the birth of the Buddha, as well as a selection of bronze statuettes and stone reliefs from China datable from the 2nd to 5th centuries and others items from Korea and Japan.
The Birth of the Buddha and Related Episodes as Represented in Chinese Art
CELLI, NICOLETTA
2010
Abstract
The essay treats the theme of the representation of the events surrounding the birth of the Buddha and the ceremonies commemorating these episodes in India, China, Korea and Japan. It deals in particular with a specific iconology associated with the episode of the Seven Steps, which depicts the child Buddha with the right arm aloft and the left pointing to the earth in the act of proclaiming his superiority over the whole universe. This image is unknown in the Indian cultural context and is still the object of celebrations held on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and South-East Asian lunar calendar. The study examines the earliest Chinese translations of the life of the Buddha (Xiuxing benqi jing, Taizi ruiying benqi jing) and other Chinese primary sources describing the cerimonies commemorating the birth of the Buddha, as well as a selection of bronze statuettes and stone reliefs from China datable from the 2nd to 5th centuries and others items from Korea and Japan.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
