佛教美術區域研究之回顧與省思

A Review of the Study of Regional Chinese Buddhist Art

佛教自紀元前後傳入中國以來，迄今已有兩千年的歷史，充實了我國宗教和哲學的內涵，刺激了道教這個本土宗教的發展，使得我國的文化變得更加多彩多姿。同時，隨之而來的宗教圖像和西域風格，也在中國美術的發展上烙下了重要的印記。歷經兩千年的發展，佛教美術這個外來的藝術傳統早已脫胎換骨，在我國的土壤上生根發芽，枝葉茂盛。分散於全國各地無以計數的古寺石窟、佛釋繪畫、宗教雕塑，都是我國建築史、繪畫史和雕塑史重要的研究素材。雖然如此，佛教藝術這一學門一直未曾受到古代文人的青睞。縱使宋代以來，金石學家就開始蒐集寺塔與佛教造像的碑記題刻，但他們多著重於碑刻的書法與字體，對佛教建築與造像的成就卻絕口不提。二十世紀初，外國考古學家進入我國西北邊陲，展開考古調查工作，才正式揭開我國佛教藝術研究的序幕。經過百年來無數中外學者的努力，無論在佛教考古資料的彙整、佛教圖像的辨識、和時代風格的解析方面，均累積了相當豐碩的成果。然而中國幅員遼闊，區域差異懸殊，藝術面貌各異，甚至於佛教信仰的內容也不盡相同，所以在中國佛教美術的研究上，仍有許多令人未解的難題，而區域研究或許可以解開部分疑團。本文擬介紹過去中國佛教美術區域研究的一些重要成果與研究方向，並以最為人們熟悉的敦煌佛教美術研究為一案例，提出個人對區域研究的一些看法，以就教於方家。

At about the beginning of the Christian era, Buddhism was introduced to Chinese soil. Not only were new themes and ideas brought with the religion, but it also stimulated Chinese art. However, it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that scholars began to realize the importance of Chinese Buddhist art. This paper is a review of the works which have been done in this field. It consists of two parts. The first part includes a brief history of the regional study of Chinese Buddhist art and introduces two major figures in this field, Professors Osvald Siren and Saburo Matsubara, who have played important roles in the research history of this field. Prof. Siren is the scholar who first pointed out the significance of the regional study of Chinese Buddhist sculpture and laid the foundation for this field. Prof. Matsubara has published numerous articles on the sculptural styles of Hopei, Honan, Shandong, etc. and is by far the most scholarly expert in this field. Since Tun-huang has drawn great the attention of Buddhist art historians since 1900, it may be the best example for the study of regional Chinese Buddhist art. The second part is a review of the works which have been done in Tun-huang Buddhist art. During the past hundred years, scholars have discussed the stylistic development of Tun-huang paintings and sculpture, dated Tun-huang caves according to scientific archaeological methods, studied the iconography of Tun-huang Buddhist paintings, and traced the stylistic and iconographic sources of Tun-huang Buddhist art. These efforts have indeed yielded great results; nontheless, the author does not consider the Tun-huang study to be a successful case for the study of regional Chinese Buddhist art, since many questions remain unanswered. For example, does a Tun-huang style really exist? What are characteristics of Tun-huang Buddhist art which make it easily distinguished it from those of other areas? In order to solve these problems, not only is a profound understanding of Tun-huang Buddhist art required, but knowledge of Buddhist art in related areas, such as Kizil, Yunkang, etc., is also needed. In conclusion, the author proposes that profound knowledge of Buddhist art in the specific area which one studies and an overall comprehension of Chinese Buddhist art in various regions are two basic requirements for the study of regional Chinese Buddhist art.