After two previous blogs on the Xian Museum, one fellow blogger intimated that the museum appears a bit "empty". So I thought I might just add a few more photos here in the hope that they will help a little in dispelling that impression.
This is a gilded vessel from the Han period
A carved Buddha with a halo in relief of the North Wei Dynasty (北魏) done in 534 AD
The Sri Lankan style of pavilion-shaped bas-relief and mid-relief wall carving Buddha of the North Wei dynasty (386- 534 AD) from a stupa unearthed in the Lianhu District of Xian (西安蓮湖區) in 1987
Another piece taken from a stupa of Northern Zhou Dynasty (北周) (535-556 AD) with one Buddha and two bodhisattavas unearthed in Weiyang District, Xian (西安惠陽區) in 1975
The stone statue of Buddha of the same period of Northern Zhou (北周)
A giant bust of the Buddha of the same period
A bodhisattva statue of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (北周) unearthed in Xian (西安未央區六村堡鄉官中官亭村) in 1984. He looks so filled with joy !
A bodhisattva of Northern Zhou dynasty (北周) unearthed from within the city wall in the Weiyang District of Xian ( 西安未央區長安故城) in 1984
Another bodhisattva of Northern Zhou dynasty (北周) dated AD 564
A further bodhisattva of the same period
A crouching lion in stone of the Tang Dynasty. How fierce it looks !
A squatting lion in marble of the Tang dynasty. Looks really strong.
A very rough Tang dynasty stone sculpture portraying the story of a Buddhist saint: Prince Mahasattva who offered himself as food for a famished tiger .
An elaborately carved stone elephant holding what appears a lotus pedestal for a missing Buddha also of the Tang dynasty. The decorations looks very Indian.
This is a gilded vessel from the Han period
A carved Buddha with a halo in relief of the North Wei Dynasty (北魏) done in 534 AD
The Sri Lankan style of pavilion-shaped bas-relief and mid-relief wall carving Buddha of the North Wei dynasty (386- 534 AD) from a stupa unearthed in the Lianhu District of Xian (西安蓮湖區) in 1987
Another piece taken from a stupa of Northern Zhou Dynasty (北周) (535-556 AD) with one Buddha and two bodhisattavas unearthed in Weiyang District, Xian (西安惠陽區) in 1975
The stone statue of Buddha of the same period of Northern Zhou (北周)
A giant bust of the Buddha of the same period
A bodhisattva statue of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (北周) unearthed in Xian (西安未央區六村堡鄉官中官亭村) in 1984. He looks so filled with joy !
A bodhisattva of Northern Zhou dynasty (北周) unearthed from within the city wall in the Weiyang District of Xian ( 西安未央區長安故城) in 1984
Another bodhisattva of Northern Zhou dynasty (北周) dated AD 564
A further bodhisattva of the same period
A crouching lion in stone of the Tang Dynasty. How fierce it looks !
A squatting lion in marble of the Tang dynasty. Looks really strong.
A very rough Tang dynasty stone sculpture portraying the story of a Buddhist saint: Prince Mahasattva who offered himself as food for a famished tiger .
An elaborately carved stone elephant holding what appears a lotus pedestal for a missing Buddha also of the Tang dynasty. The decorations looks very Indian.
This is a Tang dynasty "heavenly king" (天王) unearthed at the Linhu District of Xian (西安蓮湖區) in 1985. How expressive is his face! The features look Aryan.
A Tang dynasty arahanta or arhat (羅漢) unearthed in 1987 at the side of the No. 8 School of Xian: fierce yet peaceful ! Again note his non Chinese facial features
This is another Tang dynasty gilded boddhisattva. How fine the details !
Another Tang dynasty Buddha. How stately and yet calm !
This is a plaster bust of a Buddha from the Sui dynasty (隋代) (581-618 AD). The lines are so simple and yet forceful.
This is a stone bust of Buddha from the Tang Dynasty. How serene he looks !
A row of carved Buddha stone busts
A statue of the Buddha in carved stone in 716 AD in the Tang Dynasty. How relaxed !
A marble Buddha with a painted lotus pedestal of the Tang dynasty.
A Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Avalokitesvara (阿婆盧低舍婆羅/ 阿縛盧枳低嘆代伐邏) or Koon Yin (觀自在菩薩 /觀 (光) 世音菩薩) : so full of quiet dynamism !
(to be cont'd)
Such prolific efforts in the production of religious statues for so many centuries and yet human beings still fail to find peace of mind. What an irony!
回覆刪除Thanks for sharing.
[版主回覆09/15/2012 01:28:15]Peace of mind is always an ideal. So long as people fail first to learn the causes of dukkha (苦) according to the great Buddha: viz. tanha or craving/ avarice /greed/inordinate desire(貪欲) ( in the form of emotions/passion (情), sensation ( 色 ) food (食), sexual pleasures ( 淫)) anger/hatred/hostility (憎) inordinate passion/addiction/attachment (癡) and ignorance/illusion/lack of wisdom/enlightenment (妄) originating from our sensation of sight, smell, taste, touch (色香味觸) and then to live their life with a permanent and full awareness (滿覺) of the havoc they can and will wreak upon their life (in thought, word, deed and emotions) by practising the 8 rightful paths ( right knowledge/view/attitude, thinking, word, conduct, career, diligence, concept and meditation), so long will they fail to find what they claim they most desire: peace of mind and "happiness".
一連幾編滿是出土文物、文章註解十分清晰。謝謝分享！
回覆刪除[版主回覆09/13/2012 15:21:24]Not every one has the time or the interest to visit some of the treasures of China. Yet as Chinese, we need to know about where we came from, what our ancestors were good at and how we may discover some of our own cultural roots and from them build up our own cultural identity.
The museum appears a bit "crowded".
回覆刪除[版主回覆09/13/2012 23:50:21]"Empty" or "crowded" are merely opinions, the fact is that some 2000 odd items are on exhibit but there are a total of 130,000 exhibits in total.
長安故都的珍品真不少！
回覆刪除[版主回覆09/14/2012 04:18:09]It's not surprising because it has been the capital of China for many centuries during different dynasties.
Thank you very much for the great sharing. The photos are well taken and the illustrations are also excellent!
回覆刪除[版主回覆09/14/2012 09:18:13]Thank you. Glad you found them so.
[版主回覆09/15/2012 00:43:51]Don't worry. You'll get them.
回覆刪除So precious.
回覆刪除[版主回覆09/15/2012 00:45:07]Yes, they're very valuable in helping us understand about Chinese life and Buddhism in various periods of Chinese history.
冇0既
回覆刪除[版主回覆09/15/2012 23:29:09]I already posted one at 00. 58 a.m. today. If you can't find it, ask Yahoo.com. According to my own blog, the blog was published ! In fact, I also posted one the previous day being Off to Xian 7. I also got a message that my other fellow bloggers didn't see it. There's definitely a problem with yahoo.com !