“Northern Wei sculpture: Chinese sculpture, dominated by simple images of the Buddha, dating from the eral of the Northern Wei dynasty (AD 386-534/535). The art represents the first major influence of Buddhism on China, and may be divided into two major periods. The first style (c.452-494), an amalgam of foreign influences traceable to the Buddhist art of India, is characterized by heavy stylization of blocky volumes. The second style (c.494-535) clothes the Buddha in the costume of the Chinese scholar and emphasizes a sinuous cascade of drapery falling over an increasingly flattened figure.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Mark's Text Terminal 