Indian Budism

3 Pages 669 Words

The Chinese and India cultures are interconnected with one another. The art, architecture, religion and social standards of these great civilizations have intricate similarities and striking differences. The two have influenced each other in many ways. India spread its Buddhist beliefs to the Chinese and the Chinese introduced new trade and industry to the Indian culture. They shared many of these things unknowingly through trade and people moving through out the world.
One of the major details in Indian art is the use of the tribhunga style. This style is one of creating a human form in which the stance contains three curves. These curves usually are at the hip, shoulder and head. A second detail of Indian art is the special hand positions. A piece may show one with their hand in a certain form. These defined positions will indicate a power or skill that is held by the person depicted.
Many of the pieces on exhibit at the MFA’s Indian collection are religious in nature. Their religious beliefs affected their lives in all aspects. One must live the proper life in order to move on to a better one when they reach the next life. They would create many statues for each of the different gods they worshiped. These statues were referred to as Bodhisattvas. The different characteristics of these works such as stance and hand position would indicate who was represented. Many of the statues would also have multiple arms. These arms were symbolic of the deity having many talents and purposes. This may show one arm with a weapon, another with a religious item and yet another with a special hand position that indicates a special power held by that particular Bodhisattva.
The art forms and styles of the Chinese culture changed often in ancient times. In each dynasty there were tell tale signs that the pieces were made in that era. These telling factors could vary greatly from colors used to materials. Many examples of these differences lie in ...