. A short history of art . t flourished inthe land enclosed by the two sacred rivers, Ganges andJumna, where even in the twelfth century stood mag-nificent cities, under the sway of Brahminical rulers. Be-tween 600 and 540 appeared Buddha, who preached apurer, more human, and comforting religion than that in-volved in the old polytheistic belief of Brahminism. About250 Buddhism, under King Asoka, obtained supremacyover the old faith, though the latter some centuries laterreasserted its power, driving out the adherents of Buddhism,who sought refuge in China, Japan, and the Malaya
. A short history of art . t flourished inthe land enclosed by the two sacred rivers, Ganges andJumna, where even in the twelfth century stood mag-nificent cities, under the sway of Brahminical rulers. Be-tween 600 and 540 appeared Buddha, who preached apurer, more human, and comforting religion than that in-volved in the old polytheistic belief of Brahminism. About250 Buddhism, under King Asoka, obtained supremacyover the old faith, though the latter some centuries laterreasserted its power, driving out the adherents of Buddhism,who sought refuge in China, Japan, and the Malayanislands. With the triumph of Buddhism in India, the monumentalart creations seem to have begun. King Asoka is said to 89 40 A SHORT HISTORY OF ART have erected 84,000 buildings, in which were distributedthe rehcs of Buddha. The earliest form of those topesor dagobas was that of a mound, containing a smallchamber. It was raised upon » circular platform, which, likethe structure itself, was built of solid brickwork, coated. THUPARAMAYA-DAGOBANote the Cupola-like Building and the Stone Column-posts on the outside with dressed stones. Sometimes these build-ings presented a series of cupola-like forms, diminishing insize, and had four handsome portals, with slender columnsand lintels, the design of which was based on an older formof wooden construction. Further, the whole was often sur-rounded by a circle of stone column-posts, slender like reeds,and surmounted by a capital. A second characteristic form of Buddhistic architectureappears in the Viharas. Buddha had set the example of the ART OF EASTERN ASIA 41 contemplative life, and his followers returned to caves formeditation. Soon the natural hollows became transformedinto regular underground chambers, the ceilings of whichwere hewn smooth and supported by pillars wrought out ofthe living rock. Some of these, such as the Cave of Karii,
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Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectart, bookyear1913
