Picturesque Nepal . ir own ideas, an(Ljthii&__produced thistypical architecturalfeature with a specialcEaracter of its own. There are numerousbuildings of this type in various parts of theValley, all fundamentally Buddhist in origin,and all of an early, or comparatively early,date. They comprise what may be referredto as the Chaitya style of Nepalese archi-tecture. Side by side w^ith these solid stone structureswill be observed buildings of an entirelydifferent nature and of a less antique appear-ance, but dedicated to somewhat the samereligious purposes. An entire contrast to thesevere form o
Picturesque Nepal . ir own ideas, an(Ljthii&__produced thistypical architecturalfeature with a specialcEaracter of its own. There are numerousbuildings of this type in various parts of theValley, all fundamentally Buddhist in origin,and all of an early, or comparatively early,date. They comprise what may be referredto as the Chaitya style of Nepalese archi-tecture. Side by side w^ith these solid stone structureswill be observed buildings of an entirelydifferent nature and of a less antique appear-ance, but dedicated to somewhat the samereligious purposes. An entire contrast to thesevere form of the stupa, in design, construc-tion, and general character, these templespresent what may be termed the Pagoda style of architecture in the Nepal Valley. Aglance at these buildings will at once revealtheir origin, which is obviously Clijnese inalmost every particular. The explanation ofthe introduction of this very distinctive style,from an entirely opposite source to the Chaitya, may be found by observing the. THE DOME OF BOVH^ATH.—Pa^e I39. CHINESE INFLUENCE 137 course of events, both religious and political, which affected Asia during the Middle Ages. History tells us that the establishment of Buddhism in China was contemporaneous with its decline in India, its original seat. Buddhist Nepal, no longer able to look to Hindustan for its inspirations, naturally turned to the Celestial Empire for religious impulse, where the Newars national creed was a living fact, and becoming more powerful day by day. A parallel case is to be observed in the story of the Christian Church. The / modern student of Christianity would hardly look to Jerusalem for enlightenment on the principles of this religion, and in the same way, although Kapilavastu—the Buddhist ^^ Bethlehem—is on the confines of Nepal, the whole country around lay under the sway of the Brahman, just as the Holy Land at the present time lies in the hand of the Turk. The succeeding centuries tended to still further narr
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