Unit 1: Land of Fragrance: The Birth of Gandhara Civilization under Multiculturalism (1st century B.C.-5th century A.D.)

　　在长达千年的历史长河中，犍陀罗一直为不同的王朝政权所掌控，文化面貌丰富多样，地区间文化类型互相混杂。

　　Throughout its millennia-long history, Gandhara has been under the control of different empires. Different cultural types have been mixed in this region, resulting in a rich and varied cultural landscape.

　　从伊朗系的阿契美尼德王朝（公元前559-前330年）、希腊系的马其顿国王亚历山大大帝入侵印度大陆（公元前327年）、印度孔雀王朝（公元前317-前189年）、希腊化-巴克特里亚王国时期（公元前2世纪至公元前1世纪）、中亚游牧系的塞人时期（公元前1世纪至公元1世纪）到贵霜王朝（1世纪晚期-3世纪）和寄多罗贵霜时期（4世纪中期到5世纪中期），犍陀罗地区的统治者由不同语言、不同族群和不同文化背景的民族粉墨登场，由此奠定了犍陀罗地区历史文化发展与繁荣的基础。

　　The Gandhara region went through the reign of the Iranian Achaemenian Empire (559-330 BC), the invasion of mainland India by Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king from Greece (327 BC), from the Indian Maurya Empire (317-189 BC) to the Hellenistic-Bactrian kingdom period (2nd century BC to 1st century BC), and then from the nomadic force of Saka from Central Asian (1st century B.C. to 1st century A.D.) to the Kushan Empire (late 1st century - 3rd century), through the period of Kidarite-Kushans (mid 4th century to mid 5th century), ruled by peoples of different languages, ethnic groups, and cultural backgrounds, thus laying the foundation for its historical and cultural development and prosperity.

　　Unit 2: The Splendor of Gandhara Art ( 1st-5th century)

　　通过百余年来的考古发掘，大规模的佛教寺院与佛塔遗址、丰富的佛教造像均展示出贵霜时期犍陀罗艺术极其繁盛的历史面貌。

　　More than a hundred years of archaeological excavations have brought to light a multitude of Buddhist monasteries and stupa sites, as well as a wealth of Buddhist sculptures, all of which show the extremely prosperous history of Gandhara art during the Kushan period. 

　　犍陀罗艺术分为早晚两个阶段，早期（公元1-3世纪）的犍陀罗美术深受古代希腊-罗马艺术的影响，流行着来自地中海的建筑、尊像和装饰纹样。佛教艺术以灰色片岩雕刻作品为主，大乘佛教思想盛行，创立了佛陀形象，佛、菩萨形象具有古希腊、罗马雕塑的特征：波浪形卷发，衣褶厚重，衣纹流畅，面部轮廓具有鲜明的欧罗巴人特征。晚期（3世纪中期至5世纪），犍陀罗地区经历动荡，政治中心西移至喀布尔河谷，艺术风格出现了变化。印度笈多艺术也影响到西北地区。这一时期主要使用石膏造像，本土化的艺术风格日趋明显。5世纪70年代，寄多罗贵霜统治下的寺院经济受到嚈哒入侵打击和持续掠夺，贵霜王朝艺术逐渐衰落。

　　We can divide this period into early and late stages. The early one was in the 1st-3rd centuries A.D. The contemporary Gandhara art was subject to influences from ancient Greco-Roman art, where architecture, statues, and decorative patterns from the Mediterranean were fashionable. During this period, the Mahayana Buddhist thoughts prevailed, and the image of Buddha emerged. These Buddhist statues are mainly from grey schist. The images of Buddha and Bodhisattva have the characteristics of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures: wavy hair, thin clothes, draped folds of clothing, and distinctly Europid facial contours. The late stage was from the mid-3rd to 5th centuries A.D. During this time, the Gandhara region endured turmoil, with the political center moving westward to the Kabul River Valley, and a change in artistic style appeared. Indian Gupta art also influenced the northwest area. During this period, plaster statues dominated, and a localized artistic style became increasingly evident. Around 570 AD, under the reign of the Kidarite-Kushans, the monastery economy suffered from the invasions and was ceaselessly plundered by the Hephthalites, and the art of the Kushan Empire gradually declined.

　　Unit 3: The Echoes of Gandhara Art (6th-14th centuries)

　　6世纪以来，随着犍陀罗艺术中心的衰微和转移，在突厥系王朝统治下，斯瓦特、克什米尔和吉尔吉特等地的地方艺术得到发展，形成了各自的艺术风格。7世纪以后，伊斯兰势力向东推移，8世纪以后，从喀布尔河谷到印度河谷逐渐伊斯兰化。在兴都库什山南麓的几个孤立的山谷中，独立的斯瓦特地区、喀什米尔地区作为佛教圣地，从大乘佛教发展到密教阶段，佛教艺术也得到了持续发展，先后延续到14世纪才最终被消灭。10世纪下半叶以来，正值西藏佛教复兴，这些地方显密佛教的兴盛、高僧往来以及艺术家的进入，使得大量的古代佛教艺术精品进入西藏，保存于大小寺院中，成为藏传佛教寺庙珍贵的财富与艺术品，一直保存到今天，为藏传佛教在青藏高原的生根、成长并走向成熟提供了丰富的养分。

　　Since the 6th century, as the center of Gandhara art declined and transferred, local art developed in Swat, Kashmir, and Gilgit under the rule of the Turkic dynasties, forming their artistic styles. 

　　After the 7th century, Islamic forces pushed eastward. From the 8th century onwards, they gradually Islamized the territory from Kabul Valley to Indus Valley. In several isolated valleys in the southern foothills of the Hindu Kush, the independent Swat region, Kashmir, which served as a Buddhist sanctuary, developed from Mahayana Buddhism to the Tantra stage, and Buddhist art continued to develop, successively until the 13th century when it was finally eradicated.

　　The second half of the 10th century coincided with the revival of Buddhism in Tibet, and these places, where Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism flourished  brought monks and artists into Tibet and also brought with them many ancient Buddhist artworks, which were preserved in Tibet's numerous monasteries. These works of art have become precious treasures of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and have been preserved until today, providing rich nutrients for Tibetan Buddhism to take root, grow and mature on the Tibetan plateau.