The statue of Kuan-yin (a Bodhisattva) of the Song Dynasty（960-1279） Made from blue and white porcelain Excavated in Fengtai District, Beijing

Under the influence of Zen Buddhist ideas, the holy and idealized qualities of the Buddha statues began to lose emphasis during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The statues of the Buddha and Bodhisattva were replaced by more secularized arhat statues. This change put more human feelings into the statues, making them look more like humans than gods, which played a positive role in the spread of Buddhism.

The Buddha statues of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) were unique for the statues’ faces, figures, postures, costumes and lotus thrones (the Buddha’s seat, in the form of a lotus flower).