摘要 七世紀前後中亞佛教藝術的整體風貌，可說是呈現了佛教藝術成、住、 壞、空完整的發展過程，即從早期以塔為中心的無佛像時代，到擁有巨大佛 像、金碧輝煌佛寺的鼎盛期，進而到「諸窣堵波荒蕪圮壞」、「久絕僧侶」的衰 敗期。本文所依據之研究資料除了玄奘《大唐西域記》外，還引用了中亞、印 度、歐美及中國、日本學者的研究成果，以及筆者親訪中亞所收集之第一手資 料。筆者歸納7 世紀前後中亞西半部佛教藝術的風貌，並探討某些中亞佛教藝 術造型的文化背景因素，本文較為新穎之見解，或為筆者提出草原文化與犍陀 羅佛教造像之間的可能關聯，亦即從中亞地區深厚的草原文化背景中，去探討 犍陀羅菩薩造像以及所謂「佛要金裝」──佛像的金彩裝飾之造像風格，其與 草原貴族的衣著品味、審美價值觀之間的可能關聯。

Abstract Central Asian Buddhist art within the period of the 7th century can be viewed as stages of an evolutional process: 1. The earliest stage of Buddhist art, which contained non-Buddha images; 2. The golden age of Buddhist art with splendorous Buddhist temples and large Buddha figures; and 3. A period of decline. In addition to Xuanzang’s Da Tang Xi Yu Ji , the sources for this study include research findings of the Central Asian, Indian, European, American, Chinese, and Japanese scholars, as well as materials collected by the author during a trip to Central Asia. This study summarizes the styles and features of Central Asian Buddhist art within the period of the 7th century. It identifies the cultural background of some Central Asian Buddhist art forms. It also proposes a possible connection between the Central Asian steppe culture and the style of the Gandharian Buddhisattva statues. It attempts to find the meaning of the golden decoration on Buddhisattva statues found in Gandharian Buddhist art by connecting it to the clothing tastes and aesthetic view points of the steppe culture’s aristocrats.