Maitreya statues in the Southern Dynasties and the incarnation of Fu Dashi as Maitreya

Abstract In the 5th and 6th centuries, the belief of the descent of Maitreya was very popular in the Jiangnan area, the Longhua Monastery worshipping the statue of Maitreya as Buddha was flourishing, and the Longhuahui (Maitreya’s preach assembly under the dragon-flower tree, aka Sri Lankan ironwood) was also once prospering. The Maitreya figures of the Southern Dynasties in the Jiangnan area are seen in the cliff niches at Baoxiang Monastery in Xinchang County, Zhejiang and the Mount Qixia Grottoes in Nanjing, Jiangsu; in Sichuan area, the Maitreya figures of the Southern Dynasties are seen on the votive stele made by Monk Xuansong in Maoxian County and the Maitreya statue made by Monk Fahai found at Xi’an Road in Chengdu. Fu Dashi (497–569 CE), a devout lay Buddhist native to Dongyang District of the Southern Dynasties, announced himself as the incarnation of Maitreya to attract believers, and invented the zhuanlun jingzang (rotating Buddhist scripture library).