**2. Gold as the Buddha's "Skin"**

Gold is believed to own the characteristics of rarity, purity, and easy processing and is regarded as one of the most valuable materials in Buddhism. Generally speaking, gold not only participates in the construction of the ideal Buddhist world, becoming the first of the Seven Treasures2, but also connects life and faith, emphasizing the divine image of Buddhism.

According to Buddhist theories, Mount Sumeru3, the center of the universe, is composed of four treasures, namely, gold, silver, colored glaze, and rock crystal. Around the mountain, there are four continents in the sea. Uttarakuru, located at the north end, is full of gold and enjoys bright days and nights. As for Jambudvipa, at the south end, it is rich in gold. As is known, Jambudvipa is the habitat of human beings and geographically refers to the area of the Indian subcontinent. According to records, this place is rich in large trees named Jambu, and gold, which explains why the Jambu continent and Jambu gold are named as such. Similarly, Buddhism describes the paradise of the Pure Land of Buddhism as a glorious scene of golden land. As recorded in the Amitabha Sutra, in the Land of Bliss, "there were seven treasure pools filled with eight merit waters, with the bottom of the pool covered by gold sand. Meanwhile, four sides' steps were made of gold, silver, colored glaze and glass. On the pavilion, there were also fine decoration made of gold, silver, colored glaze, glass, tridacna, red beads and agate. The Buddha on the other shore enjoyed happiness frequently while the ground was fulfilled by gold".

It should be mentioned that the importance of gold is also reflected in the Buddhist concept of the Seven Treasures. The Seven Treasures refer to the seven most precious substances in the world, as considered by Buddhism. However, there are different descriptions in different Buddhist classics. According to the records in Kumaraj ¯ ¯ıva's (343–413) translation of the Amitabha Sutra, the Seven Treasures are gold, silver, colored glaze, glass, tridacna, red beads, and agate. Moreover, the Seven Treasures in Xuanzang's (602–664) translation of the Sutra of Praise for the Pure Land are gold, silver, colored glaze (verulia), rock crystal (Sphatika), tridacna (Musaragalva), red beads, and Ashimagarapha (similar to ¯ red agate or carnelian). In the Prajnaparamita Sutra, the Seven Treasures are gold, silver, colored glaze, coral, amber, tridacna, and agate. However, the Seven Treasures of the Lotus

Sutra are gold, silver, colored glaze, tridacna, agate, genuine pearls, and roses. Based on the above Buddhist scriptures, even though there are different interpretations of the Seven Treasures, gold is always the first to be mentioned.

One of the common dissemination methods of Buddhism in real life is to produce and worship Buddha statues. After the statue is produced, gold is often used for the final surface decoration of the skin and clothing. The construction of Buddhist statues may even be interpreted as echoing, perhaps unintentionally, the organic construction of human bodies (M. C. Wang 2016, p. 30). The extraordinary qualities of the Buddha are further emphasized through the skin decorated by gold. This art form, which is specially called "golden appearance" by Buddhists, is characterized by materiality and fragility. While it is shaping the image of Buddha, it is also vulnerable to damage. "Golden appearance " is not only an abstract religious concept but also a form of art that has been fully utilized in the real world. Its ideology and artistic expression have a significantly long history. Approximately around the 3rd–1st century BCE, the written Dirghagama-sutra,4 the original Buddhist sutra, described the physical appearance of the Buddha as "golden shining like pure gold." The gold described here has high qualities such as purity, shine, and warmth. When it is used to shape the appearance of the Buddha, it is easy to create psychological associations of holiness and glory. Wobst has shown that adornment, because of its visibility, is a suitable medium for conveying stylistic messages (Wobst 1977, pp. 331–35). Diana argues that ornaments were part of dress strategies and that new combinations of objects were displayed visually over clothing or on the body to constitute new identities (Diana 2003, p. 236). Although most Buddhists believe that the Buddha has outlived his attachment to these materials, both Buddhist texts and Buddha statues actively use gold to decorate the appearance of the Buddha and mark the Buddha as a superior being in order to achieve the purpose of religious communication in different areas of social groups where the Buddha can express and spread their religious identity and status (Kieschnick 2003, p. 8).

Buddha statues in this form have been widely produced and disseminated throughout history. At present, the earliest gold products with decorated Buddha statues found in the world, or gold-decorated Buddha statues, are from the Gandhara region. The Bimaran reliquary, found in Stupa No. 2 in Bimaran near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in 1838, is one of the earliest physical depictions of the Buddha (see Figure 1). According to the excavated condition and the art of the Buddha statue, it could be inferred that the box was made around the 1st century (Cribb 2015, pp. 26–36; Sun and He 2018, p. 145). The Buddha in this statue, wearing a Hellenic robe with a knot on his right hand, stands on the throne of the golden box and is accompanied by Brahma and Indra from Brahmanism.5 Thus, it can be concluded that this statue absorbed the native Indian culture and Western Greco-Roman culture. Apart from that, a single mercury-gilded bronze seated Buddha statue dating from the middle of the 1st to 2nd century CE was also found in the area, which was proved to be the earliest Buddha ever discovered with its surface decorated with gold (Li and Zhang 2021, p. 131; The Metropolitan Museum of Art 2004, pp. 51–52) (see Figure 2). This Buddha is jagged at the edge of his head and sits in a preaching position. It is worth mentioning that its appearance and costume are obviously in the artistic style of a Greco-Roman statue. Meanwhile, the gold coin of Kanishka I (127–151), issued by the Kushan Dynasty (c. 100–300), which once ruled Gandhara, features a similar image of the Buddha on the back, with the Greek inscription "BOΔΔO" on the left. From the 2nd century CE, gold leaf came into use in Gandhara. During this period, gold decoration was placed on the surface of Buddhas made of schist, stucco, clay, and other materials (Li and Zhang 2021, pp. 131–32). The typical above examples indicate that Buddhist statues in Gandhara took the lead in adopting gold for artistic expression. At the same time, a number of gold techniques were also applied, such as hammering, chiseling, mercury gilding, and gold leaf gilding, to decorate the surfaces of bronze, rock, and clay. As is known to all, Gandhara is one of the important birthplaces of Buddha art. Gandhara Buddha statues integrate the ideological elements, art forms, and processing techniques of various Eastern and Western civilizations, such as Persia, Greco-Roman civilization, and

the civilizations of the central Asian steppes. The birth of Gandhara Buddha statues was clearly influenced by the artistic style of Greco-Roman statuary. At the same time, this external factor influenced Gandhara's gold technology. In 334 BC, Alexander's expedition brought advanced gold technology from the Mediterranean to Gandhara. In the temple at Ai-Khanum in northeastern Afghanistan, a gilt-silver Cybeli plate from the 3rd century BC was found, which would have been used for sacrificial rites. This typical silver plate features three ancient Greek gods, the stars, and the moon in a relief, and the surface is gilded. This undoubtedly introduced a new decoration concept and technology demonstration to gold-decorated Buddha statues. In this context, gold became an important material in the production and artistic expression of Buddha statues in Gandhara, focusing on the apparent skin or clothing of the Buddha. With the material advantage of gold, the appearance of the Buddha glittered. By comparison, its visual impact and sense of religious experience are far greater than those of other materials. The design inspiration and decoration techniques of this religious statue not only shaped the Buddha worshiped and offered by believers into a higher being but also provided a new form of surface decoration for religious statues. This created favorable conditions for the development and spread of Buddhism.

**Figure 1.** The Bimaran reliquary, 1st century (circa). Materials: gold and garnet. Dimensions: H. 6.5 cm × D. 6.6 cm. Displayed in the British Museum, London, United Kingdom. Photo source: the official website of the British Museum6.

The story "Night Dream of Golden Buddha" by Emperor Ming (28–75) of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220) is the earliest record of Buddhism in Chinese history. At that time, the earliest sutra translators coming to China, Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna, recorded in their translation of the Sutra of Forty-Two Sections that, "in the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the Emperor Ming dreamed at night that a person with a golden body and sunlight was flying at the nape" (Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna 1924–1934, p. 722). He was so pleased with himself that he asked his officials the next day, "who is the person?" The knowledgeable person, Fu Yi, said, "I have heard that there is a person in Tianzhu who has attained enlightenment. His name is Buddha. He can fly with a slight lift and he is known as extraordinary." His appearance was golden. At the same time, the dream was interpreted by the court officials to be associated with the Western "Buddha." This indicates that golden yellow was the most prominent appearance of the Buddha. This kind of record also appeared in later Buddhist writings such as "Master Mou's Treatise Dispelling Doubts," "Biography of Eminent Monks," "the Disciplines of

the Later Han Dynasty," and "Historical Records of the Later Han Dynasty," indicating that the golden Buddha had become a certain social consensus from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (25–581). In 178–189 AD, the Kushan monk Lokaksema (c. 147–?), in the capital of Luoyang, successively translated the earliest Mahayana Buddhist scriptures in China. As recorded in the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (As.t.asahasrik ¯ a Prajñ ¯ ap¯ aramit ¯ a S ¯ utra) and the Pratyutpanna Samadhi ¯ Sutra, the Shakyamuni Buddha, Buddhas in the Ten Directions, Buddhas of the Three Times (tryadhva-buddha¯h.) and Nirmana-buddha were all golden ¯ 7. This proves that in the late 2nd century, Mahayana gilded Buddha statues had already been systematically introduced into China (Ma 2013, pp. 265–67). From the middle of the 3rd century, Chinese monks traveled westward through the Silk Road to seek dharma. On the way, they saw many bronze and stone Buddha statues decorated with gold. For example, in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420), Fa-hsien (337–422) saw the Buddha's parietal bone relics in Hiffa City (today's Jalalabad, Afghanistan) (Fa-Hsien 1985, p. 46). Huisheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–532) saw bronze and stone Buddha statues gilded with mercury and gold leaf in Yumi City (today's Yutian County, Xinjiang), Uddiyana State (today's Swat County, Pakistan), and Varusha City (today's Shahbaz Garhi area, Maldan Shabazi, Pakistan) (Yang 2006, pp. 210–214). This illustrates that Buddha statues were concentrated in Gandhara, the Buddhist art center at that time. They spread across the western regions, from west to east, and finally to inland China. The arrival of gilded Buddha statues brought new changes to the development of foreign religious art and Chinese gold craft.

**Figure 2.** The gilded bronze seated Buddha of Shakyamuni from Gandhara, 1st to mid-2nd century. Materials: gilt bronze. Dimensions: H. 16.8cm × W. 11.4 cm × D. 10.2 cm. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States of America. Photo source: the official website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Behrendt 2007, p. 49).
