The Visual Language and Spiritual Signification of Gupta-Style Buddhist Sculpture: A Case Study of Cave 169 at the Bingling Temple Grottoes

Abstract

This article investigates how sculptural conventions associated with the Gupta period were appropriated and re-signified in a Chinese cave-temple context, focusing on the principal images of Cave 169 at the Bingling Temple Grottoes (Gansu, China). Drawing on formal analysis and comparative stylistic reading, the study identifies a cluster of features often linked to the Sarnath idiom, smooth modelling, downcast half-closed eyes, the so-called “Gupta smile,” and a robe rendered as a thin, rhythmically folded surface. At the same time, these traits are shown to be selectively adapted through local workshop practices, iconographic programs, and material constraints. Interpreting the images as visual media for Buddhist devotion and instruction, the paper argues that their calm expression and idealized body proportions function not merely as aesthetic choices but as carriers of doctrinal values such as compassion, wisdom, and transcendence. By situating Bingling within broader transregional networks of artistic circulation, the article contributes to discussions on the cross-cultural transmission of Buddhist visual languages and the formation of shared regimes of sacred representation across Eurasia.