The evolution and spread of the image of "Nagas bathing Siddhartha" in Buddhism art

Abstract

The image of the "Nagas Bathing Siddhartha", an important theme in Buddhist art, was produced in India and has appeared successively in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Tibet and other places in China during the process of Buddhism spreading to the east. However, its forms and contents differ in different regions and different periods. Therefore, it is conducive to understand the sinicization process of Indian Buddhist art and can deepen the understanding of the specific contents of Buddhist art exchanges to study the differences. The innovative point of view of this paper is that the distribution of "Nagas Bathing Siddhartha" is "regional," and the variation of its style reflects the route and regional characteristics of Buddhist transmission.

Keywords

• Nagas Bathing Siddhartha
• Evolution
• Two nagas
• Nine nagas
• Sinicization