402 henrik h. sØrensen
Esoteric Buddhist Art during the Seventh Century
The Longmen Caves in the vicinity of the eastern capital of
Luoyang is one of the earliest sites where signs of the growing influ-
ence of Esoteric Buddhist iconography during the seventh century can
be found. The caves of interest to us here are the group known as the
Leigutai Caves located in the eastern hills of the site. Among
the relevant images is a large statue of Vairocana Buddha seated
on a column-like throne, a relief of the eight-armed Avalokiteśvara
(Ekādaśamukha?), and an impressive relief of the standing, thousand-
armed, thousand-eyed Avalokiteśvara.^1 Although the Vairocana does
not feature the vajramuṣtī-mudrạ̄ commonly associated with the Eso-
teric Buddhist forms of this buddha, the identification is fairly cer-
tain on account of the ornate, conical crown and the jewelry he wears
(figure 1).
Inscriptions found in connection with these images reveal that
they were made between 692 and 704 C.E. However, the Vairocana
would appear to date from the early period of the reign of Empress
Wu Zetian (r. 684–704), perhaps even slightly before, and can
be considered the prototype on the basis of which the series of Sich-
uanese Vairocana images from the late seventh century were made.^2
The thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara would appear to have been made
around 700 C.E. and may be one of the very first images of this form
of the bodhisattva to be made.^3
Free-standing sculptures of Esoteric Buddhist divinities from Tang
China are relatively rare, and those that survive do not in any way rep-
resent the large number of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and protectors, the
existence of which is otherwise indicated by the primary sources. Nev-
ertheless, at present many images, both those made of stone as well as
those of cast bronze, can be found in museums scattered around the
world.
(^1) The most informative article on these images to date is Li Wensheng 1991, 61–64.
More preliminary reports are those by Gong 1980a and Gong 1980b, 45–46. See also
Rhie 1988, 26–27, figure 27.
(^2) These are found at Qianfoyan in Guangyuan, at Mt. Nan in Bazhong, and at
Feixiange in Pujiang. See Sørensen 1998, 33–67.
(^3) This can be estimated on stylistic and iconographical grounds. When compared
with other similar images from the eighth century, the Longmen image is clumsier
and more archaic, which indicates that it is an older image.