Chen Heqing

CHINA; Southern Song dynasty

Chen Heqing was a sculptor specializing in smelting, carpentry, and ship making. In 1181 of the Southern Song dynasty, he was requested to assist in the construction of Todaiji Temple in Japan, in addition to the sculpting of the temple’s statue of Vairocana Buddha. According to Record of Todaiji Temple, in 1183, Chen and his younger brother Chen Foshou brought seven artisans from China to assist in the completion of the Buddha statue, which took just 39 days. Chen was also known to have helped with supervising the building of the Golden Hall and the south gate of Todaiji Temple.
This particular style of southern Chinese Buddhist temple is known as the daibutsu (great Buddha) style because it was brought to Japan by Chen when he built the Great Buddha Hall of Todaiji Temple. As a result, daibutsu became the prominent style during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and since then it has had a great influence on the construction and design of Japanese Buddhist temples. The Pure Land Hall at Jodoji Temple is another example of the daibutsu style.