上海博物馆

Introduction

China has long been known for its wide variety of time-honored sculpture. A large number of sculpted works made of various mediums have been unearthed in Neolithic sites. During the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, early sculptures finally evolved into magnificent decorative crafts either carved into jade, stone, and bone or cast in bronze. The Qin and Han dynasties witnessed a sculpture boom in wide varieties and exquisite craftsmanship; in particular, the tomb statues of this period formed a well-assembled system and the brick or stone relief had its distinguishing feature of the times.

During the Eastern Han dynasty, Buddhist art was introduced along the Silk Road to where the Han people lived, thus opening a new chapter for the exchanges between East and West. During the period from the Wei and Jin dynasties, through the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and finally to the Sui and Tang dynasties, exchanges and fusion between different cultures bred a stunning array of marvellous works. Religious statues were found flourishing in rock-cut caves and Buddhist temples, and the practice of tomb sculptures was still under development. The Five Dynasties as well as the Northern and Southern Songs, however, saw the decline of the sculpting practice in mausoleums and caves but its rise in temples and buildings. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the production of more standardized, worldly-taste works, embodying both Han-nationality and Tibetan sculptural arts, presented a unique vibrancy derived from ethnic diversity and national unity.