From the Perspective of a Unified Regime: The Interaction between the Capital and Regional Buddhist Statuary Styles in the Eastern Wei 东魏and Northern Qi 北齐Dynasties

In the late Northern Dynasties of China, Yecheng邺城, serving as the capital of both the Eastern Wei东魏 and Northern Qi北齐 dynasties, emerged as a pivotal point where cultures from all directions converged, intermingled, or underwent new transformations, thereby fostering a flourishing landscape of Buddhist art. During the Northern Dynasties, traveling south from Pingcheng平城, one would encounter Jinyang晋阳 and Dingzhou定州, separated by the Taihang Mountains太行山, and further south were Yecheng and Luoyang洛阳, with Qingzhou青州 lying directly to the east. Buddhist statuary styles spread widely and developed continuously through the major transportation routes, leaving a rich legacy of Buddhist statues across various regions. These relics provide a window through which to glimpse the underlying political and social landscapes of the Northern Dynasties. This paper aims to explore, from the perspective of unified regimes, the interactive relationship between the Buddhist statue styles of the capital city of Yecheng and those of the surrounding regions. It endeavors to elucidate how these interactions were facilitated by individual migration, religious group activities, and large-scale population movements. Furthermore, it emphasizes that during the reign of the Gao family, the attention and control exercised over Yecheng and its surrounding areas were significant driving forces in influencing the material cultural landscape of these regions