Statue of Dharma Crossing the Sea by He Chaozong

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He Chaozong was a porcelain sculptor active in the Jiajing and Wanli periods of the Ming dynasty. The Chinese art is aimed to show the invisible beauty of the landscape and the spiritual likeness of the portrait. The facial expression is a key element to judge the artistic achievement and is required to be presented faithfully and vividly. The works of He Chaozong is a good example. He often created a setting to show the theme of the works. Dharma,a short term for Bodhidharma is said to be born in South Hindu. He sailed to Canton from ancient India in the Southern Song dynasty. Failing to have a good talk with Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (Xiao Yan), he took a northern-bound boat, first to Luoyang, then to the Shaolin Temple in the Songshan Mountain. The legend goes that he meditated in the Songshan Mountain for ten years before.

Dharma was regarded as the founder of the Chan sect of Buddhism in China. In the statue, he was depicted with deep eyes and curled hair. He crossed his hands on the chest looking at the land afar with the sea beneath his feet. His ambition of spreading the Buddhism in the East and his determination was very well conveyed. He Chaozong applied the Buddhist sculpting tradition passed down from the third centur on his sculptures bestowing it with unearthly splendor and unspeakable wisdom. He noted the artistic trends of the common people, modified the sculptures without compromising the different nature of various gods. His Buddhist sculptures are friendly but not vulgar, respectable but not fearful.

The dignity of Buddha and the human charm matched perfectly in the sculpture.

The porcelain clay of Dehua Kiln and the advanced firing skill also contributed to the making of the exquisite porcelain work. The Dehua Kiln contains a relatively high level of Si02, under high temperature, which appear to be glass-like and is able to form fine porcelain body and increase transparency. The Dehua Kiln used less Fe203 and more K20 which increased the whiteness of white porcelain and made the glaze color look purer and brighter under the sun. With full knowledge of the claychange during the firing, the porcelain sculptor made the works of art more three-dimensional.