Our Trip to Dazu, Sichuan Province, China

6. Mother and Child at Dazu

The art at Dazu shows their figures in naturalistic, lively, fluid, and dynamic poses. The niches alternate between acts of devotion and flourishes of storytelling. In niche no. 15 (shown left), it shows the common masses in scenes devoted not of worship but of carrying out the mundane principles of parental care and filial piety. These are among the central themes of native Confucianism. Buddhism, transplanted from India clearly had to adapt to Chinese ways.