CHINESE SCULPTURE: A Great Tradition by Ann PaludanArchaeological discoveries over the last fifty years have revolutionised knowledge about Chinese sculpture, revealing the length and strength of a hitherto unsuspected tradition stretching back to prehistoric times. This tradition was concerned with the powers of statuary. Unwritten, it was based on beliefs shared by all classes on the nature of the cosmos, the importance of maintaining contact with the ancestors and the idea that images contain power