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A wide array of reliquaries was found when the Five-story Stone Pagoda of Muryangsa Temple in Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do Province was dismantled for repairs in 1971. Among them were five Buddhist sculptures that were stolen in 1989. Some of these were returned to the temple in 2001 and others in 2017, thus enabling in-depth study of these sculptures. This paper proposes production and enshrinement dates for four of the sculptures and offers suggestions for the characteristics of enshrining Buddhist sculptures inside pagodas during the hypothesized periods. To clarify the enshrinement status, the paper first reconstructed the dismantling and repair process of the Five-story Stone Pagoda of Muryangsa Temple and identified where each reliquary was placed inside the pagoda. When the dismantling and repair process was reconstructed, it was revealed that the reliquaries must have been enshrined either when the pagoda was constructed or when it was repaired. Through a stylistic comparison with Gilt-bronze Seated Amitabha Buddha Triad and Gilt-bronze Seated Bodhisattva, the paper dates them to the early Goryeo period and the fifteenth century, during the Joseon Dynasty. Since no additional records on repairs or written prayers have been found inside the Five-story Stone Pagoda of Muryangsa Temple, it is difficult to define the objectives of the repair of the pagoda or the enshrinement of the reliquaries. However, by dating the Buddhist sculptures enshrined within the pagoda, this paper shows that it was repaired in the fifteenth century. It also examines Buddhist events held at Muryangsa Temple, including the engraving of various Buddhist scripture woodblocks. Moreover, by researching the patrons who participated in the Buddhist events, the paper presumes that the Muryangsa pagoda was repaired in the fifteenth century when the Buddhist sculptures were enshrined inside. It further relates the objectives of enshrining the Buddhist sculptures inside the Muryangsa pagoda to the spread of the faith that Geumgangsan Mountain was a Buddha Land where Dharmodgata Bodhisattva resided and to patronage from the Joseon royal family.

In 2008, in the course of excavating the site of the pagoda foundations of the former Nanjing Da Bao’en Monastery 南京大報恩寺, archaeologists discovered Buddhist relics enshrined in nested reliquaries along with some two hundred offering objects. The most impressive finding was a specially designed, richly decorated reliquary stūpa, known as the Seven-Jeweled Aśoka Stūpa 七寶阿育王塔, created in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE). This paper begins with the history of the site where a series of famous Buddhist structures had been built since the Wu Kingdom (222–280 CE), and which has long been associated with the cult of King Aśoka and relic worship. It then goes on to examine the form and features of the reliquary stūpas prevalent in the Wuyue period (907–978). Through comparisons between the Aśoka stūpas commissioned by Wuyue King Qian Chu 錢俶 (929–988) and those by laypeople around the same time, I will demonstrate that the Seven-Jeweled Aśoka Stūpa is distinct in its secular features. It is not a Buddhist reliquary that strictly conforms to the conventions of reliquary-making in terms of scale, inscription, and functionality, besides relic worship, it also features a remarkable manifestation of laypeople’s beliefs and expectations, sacred or secular. Viewed in its historical context, in which the Song emperors imposed political control over religious affairs and Buddhism became increasingly secular, the stūpa was a product of negotiation between the political authorities and local Buddhist communities in the Song Dynasty.

Standing for over 800 years, the pagoda of Dinglin Temple in Nanjing, a city in eastern China, is the world's most leaning tower on record. Prior to restoration work performed by an engineering tea...

Historically, sutras played an important role in spreading Buddhist faith and doctrine, and today these remain important records of Buddhist thought and culture. A Mahamayuri Vidyarajni Sutra with polychrome paintings was found inside the cavity on top of the Nanmen Buddhist pagoda, built in the early Tang dynasty (618–627 CE) and located in Anhui Province, China. Textile was found on the preface which is strongly degraded and fragile. Unfortunately, the whole sutra is under severe degradation and is incomplete. Technical analysis based on scientific methods will benefits the conservation of the sutra. Optical microscopy (OM), micro-Raman spectroscopy combined with optical microscope (Raman), scanning electron microscopy in combination with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the pigment and gilded material, as well as the paper fiber and textile. Pigments such as cinnabar, minium, paratacamite, azurite, lead white were found. Gilded material was identified as gold. A five-heddle warp satin, made of silk, was found as the textile on the preface of the sutra. The sutra’s preface and inner pages were made of paper comprised of bamboo and bark. As a magnificent yet recondite treasure of Buddhism, the sutra was analyzed for a better understanding of the material. A conservation project of the sutra will be scheduled accordingly.

Silver art is an important feature of the Tang dynasty in China and the manufacturing center for silver shifted from north to south after the mid-8th century CE. The typology, stylistics and iconography of silver vessels from both regions have been studied in detail. Moreover, the analysis of northern-origin silver vessels has garnered significant attention in recent years. However, the technological characteristics of southern silver vessels are unknown. The current work presents a non-invasive scientific analysis on a partially-gilded silver box from Jiangnanxidao of Tang (China), which was uncovered from the pagoda crypt of the Famen Monastery in Fufeng County, Shaanxi province. The analytical results reveal that the box was made of high-quality silver, smelted by cupellation, and composed of five pieces, which were bonded together with some sort of a soldering alloy. The ring foot was brazed to the bottom of box with Ag–Cu alloy. Hammering, brazing, engraving, repoussé, tracing and partial fire-gilding were employed to shape and decorate the box. One should note that these techniques are commonly observed in Tang silver vessels. Besides, the production and decorative procedures were identified through the tool marks. More strikingly, the comparison of tracing details between the southern box, presented here, and the previously reported northern silver vessels demonstrates that the former is more precise in terms of decorative details. Moreover, the similarities in motif expressions of southern-origin silver vessels after the mid-8th century and northern-origin silver vessels before the mid-8th century reflect the inheritance of decorative style, whilst the differences in technical skills indicate the evolution of decorative techniques, which attained high perfection by the southern silversmiths after the downfall of northern China. The current study presents novel insights into the silver technology of southern China during the late Tang dynasty.

이 논문은 국보 126호 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구의 연구 현황과 양식적 특징에 대해서 종합적으로 검토한 논고이다. 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구는 1966년 석탑 안에서 발견되었으나, 2007년까지 본격적인 연구는 이루어지지 못했다. 2007년부터 2009년에 걸쳐 사리장엄구 중에서 발견된 고려시대의 중수기록인 3종의 묵서지편이 보존처리되어 공개되면서, 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구에 대한 여러 가지 새로운 사실이 밝혀졌다. 또한 2012-2013년 불국사 삼층석탑이 전면해체 보수공사되면서, 1966년에 봉안했던 사리장엄구들이 다시 세상에 공개되어, 그동안 미진했던 자료들이 다시 재검토되었다. 이 글에서는 이러한 최근 자료들을 중심으로, 불국사 삼층석탑 출토 사리장엄구들의 양식적 특징 및 법사리장암벙식의 변화 과정에 대해서 종합적으로 살펴보았다. 이들은 창건기인 통일신라 726년과 고려시대 중수기인 1024년, 1038년을 거쳐 전해진 유물들로서, 신라와 고려시대 불교 문화의 잊혀졌던 독특한 전통과 역사를 연구하는 데에 매우 귀중한 자료들이다.

This essay examines the relationship between pagodas and tombs in Medieval China through a close reading of the “Preface to the Sūtra on the Merits of Constructing a ta, as Spoken by the Buddha” (F...

A large number of stone blocks, stacked up in diminishing size to form pagodas, was discovered in northern China, primarily eastern Gansu and southeastern Shanxi. Their stylistic traits and inscriptions indicate the popularity of the practice of making stacked pagodas in the Northern dynasties (circa the fifth and sixth centuries CE). They display a variety of Buddhist imagery on surface, which is in contrast with the simplification of the structural elements. This contrast raises questions about how stone pagodas of the time were understood and how they related to contemporaneous pagoda buildings. This essay examines these stacked pagodas against the broader historical and artistic milieu, especially the practice of dedicating Buddhist stone implements, explores the way the stacked pagodas were made, displayed, and venerated, and discusses their religious significance generated beyond their structural resemblance to real buildings.

The MireuksajiSeoktap is a stone pagoda from the period of King Mu(AD639) of Baekje, which was sealed inside the Reliquary of Sarira of pagoda at the time of its construction, was discovered in 2009 during a disassembly investigation. One relic found inside the Reliquary of Sarira was textile, which had remained therein because of exclusion of outside air from the container. Various kinds of plain woven silk such as Geum (brocade, 錦), Neung (twill damask, 綾), Sa (simple gauze, 紗), and Ra (4-end complex gauze, 羅) were found alongside golden thread and embroidery work. These types of textile are of the highest quality produced in ancient East Asia at the time, and are of a gorgeous style thanks to the textile’s own characteristics, as well as to the weaving, dying, and embroidery techniques used to embellish the textile. In particular, Gyeonggeum (silk-golden with borders, 經錦) and Ra embroidered with golden thread, which were considered the most precious textiles at the time, were also found, as well as textile samples in various shapes that were used to wrap offerings to Buddha. As excavation of ancient textile is a very rare incident, the textiles from the Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda can serve as specific references that reveal the weaving techniques of its period. This finding is particularly significant to research on ancient textiles of Korea, as the relics can be compared with samples discovered from other Sarira Reliquaries of Baekje, Shilla, and China. We anticipate that these important relics will be properly treated for long-term conservation so that further information can be obtained from them to supplement existing findings from previous investigations.

A new source reveals Burmese bravery at the Shwedagon pagoda following the hostilities of the Second Anglo-Burmese War in 1853. Once buried in the Mormon archives in Salt Lake City a brief journal describing events in and around the Shwedagon Pagoda of that period has surfaced. The journal, written by a man situated in the Shwedagon Pagoda, strengthens postcolonial scholarship focusing on counter narratives to colonial conquest and dominance not easily found in primary sources to date. Destruction or suppression of primary sources served a strategic agenda as another type of bayonet for colonial conquest. Through this new eye witness, we can now glimpse amidst desecration and hostilities into Burmese rebellion against their aggressors.

The Kherlen-Bars Pagoda is a little-known, undocumented monument in Dornad province of eastern Mongolia. This article argues that the pagoda was built during the period of Khitan rule in North Asia. It begins by comparing it with dated and undated pagodas of the Liao dynasty in eastern Inner Mongolia and Liaoning. The discussion then turns to less tangible aspects of Liao pagoda architecture that are observed at Kherlen-Bars: the relation between a tall monument and lower ones within viewing range, and the relation between a tall Khitan structure and a nearby walled town. A newly discovered Liao pagoda site in Xishanpo, Inner Mongolia, is presented. Finally, the article proposes sources for the three-monument arrangement at Kherlen-Bars in Northern Wei, Northern Qi, and the Silla kingdom of Korea.

Introductory remarks The Chinese, coming to the coastal regions of Timor Island in the fourteenth century, were among the first who took an interest in trading the rich sandalwood from Timor. In Dili, more than five centuries later, the Guandi Pagoda and the Chinese Cemetery (Cina Rate in Tetum) in the Audian suburb stand as reminders of the long history of the Hakka Chinese in East Timor. The Hakka of Timor currently identify themselves as Timorese Chinese or simply “Timorese”. Language is an important part of the culture of any individual and of his/ her identity. The Timorese Chinese speak several languages: Hakka, Mandarin, Tetum – the national language – and Bahasa Indonesia. Many of them also speak Portuguese, the official language. All languages are useful, but the Constitution of East Timor rules that Tetum and Portuguese are the official languages. The evolution of education in East Timor is important for the Timorese Chinese. Until the 1980s the Chinese Secondary School of Dili was active in this field. The Timorese Chinese culture is distinguished from the Timorese culture in many ways. Courage is highly prized among the Timorese which is reflected in their attitudes to others. The Chinese feel obliged do business with their friends, classmates, and partners first. The Timorese have friends but their relationships with others are different. This article briefly presents my research on the Hakka Chinese of East Timor – mainly from eastern Guangdong Province – and other Han Chinese. I also look at post-independence newcomers; after the year 2000, many Chinese came to East Timor (officially named Timor Lorosae) to develop their entrepreneurial talent.

Through the analysis of the history and current status of the Iron Pagoda Temple, it is concluded that the economic value of the Iron Pagoda Temple as a cultural heritage in Jining is underestimated, and five suggestions for reshaping its economic value are proposed.

This paper examines the bronze Buddha mold that was excavated from the western pagoda of Hwaŏm temple 華嚴寺. The research centers on the mold&rsquo, s date of production, its function, and the reason it was enshrined in the Hwaŏmsa pagoda. The pagoda itself was constructed in the ninth century and is considered to be a Dharani pagoda because Wugoujingguang datuoluonijing (無垢淨光大陀羅尼經, The Great Dharani Sūtra) is enshrined within the structure. The act of placing the Buddhist scriptures in the pagoda was to benefit the structure&rsquo, s benefactors by absolving them of their sins and granting blessings in their afterlives for their meritorious deeds. Of all the dhāraṇī, Wugoujingguang datuoluonijing is the most detailed and particularly emphasizes the act of repetition. The clarity and simplicity of its instructions made it especially popular in eighth-to-ninth-century Korea. The Hwaŏmsa Buddha mold was one of the tools used in the ritual described by Wugoujingguang datuoluonijing. Considering the sūtra&rsquo, s insistence on repetition and replication, the mold was a very suitable implement. The use of inexpensive clay also allowed for the mass production of Buddha images that any individual could commission at little cost. Furthermore, this method of producing Buddha images made it easy for the temple to attract followers and thus raise funding for the construction of the pagoda. The clay Buddhas themselves were small, making it possible for one to keep the image on his person and carry it wherever he went. Ultimately, these actions were meant to bring the individuals closer to Buddha and his world.

The present study is aimed to reconsider the time of installation and the purpose of the square footstone located at the center of the wooden pagoda in Hwangnyongsa Temple, based on related precedent studies. Precedent studies are divided into two streams of assertions: one is that the square footstone was to support the major pillars at the time of building and the other is that it was installed to store Buddhist reliquaries inside the central foundation stone after the wood pagoda burnt down in the Invasion of Mongol. Summarizing the grounds with which the precedent studies support their assertions, they are the relation with Gaseopbul Yeonjwaseok, the emerging time of the square footstone, repairing work at the level of reconstruction, additional enshrinement of general Buddhist reliquaries and so on. The present study reviewed the key grounds suggested in the previous studies regarding the square footstone. First, it was determined that the square footstone has nothing to do with Gaseopbul Yeonjwaseok, after looking into the timings of appearance, condition and shape in literatures. Rather, it was assumed that Gaseopbul Yeonjwaseok resembles a stone column. Next, the square footstone is assumed to be installed after the 4th year of King Kwangjong's rule because the wood pagoda was lost in fire in the 4th year of Kwangjong's rule and it had been left alone for 68 years until the repair work finished in the 13th year of King Hyunjong. It is assumed that repair works at the level of reconstruction had been twice in total, say, once during King Kyungmun and Hyunjong, respectively. Next, looking into the establishment of the general Buddhist reliquaries and the repair work during King Kyungmun, it was not common then to enshrine additional Buddhist reliquaries when repair work progressed and so there was not an additional enshrinement of Buddhist reliquaries after King Kyungmun. However, it is hard to decide that there was no repair work at the level of reconstruction at that time. Last, we can find a similar case to the square footstone of the wood pagoda in Hwangnyongsa Temple in the copper pagoda in Japanese Yaksasa Temple. In conclusion, it is assumed that the wooden pagoda in Hwangnyongsa Temple was lost to the fire in the 4th year of King Kwangjong's rule and thus the square footstone had been used as Jinho stone to protect Buddhist reliquaries and used as a propping stone for the major pillars after King Hyungjong.

This paper examines the role of the miniature in Buddhist ritual, through analyses of miniature pagodas from middle-period China. Due to the otherworldly sensations they evoked and their theatrical nature, miniatures were often endowed with magical and performative power in funerary and religious contexts. The miniature pagodas from the Liao empire (907–1125) were replicas of the stupa monuments (the prototype of the pagoda) at the Eight Great Sacred Places in India. Adopting ritual theories and a comparative approach, this paper illuminates how the Liao miniature pagodas were devised to symbolically transfer the sacred places to the Liao empire in northeast China, allowing Liao Buddhists to make a virtual pilgrimage to the Buddha’s homeland by circumambulating the pagoda. The ways in which they functioned in the Buddhist ritual were similar to the small-scale copies of the Holy Sepulcher in medieval Europe. Their power—contrary to common sense—originated from their miniature size and intentional rejection of their sacred prototype. Through these miniatures, the banal ritual of pagoda circumambulation was transformed into an imaginary journey to the distant holy land, which was believed to be more efficacious and meritorious than an actual pilgrimage, and the prairie of northeast China was turned into the most sacred place in the Buddhist world.

The Famen Si (temple) is located in Famen, Fufeng County, Shaanxi Province, 120 km west of Xi'an. In 1981, the badly damaged pagoda of the Famen Temple collapsed due to heavy rainfall. It was known...

Ancient books on East Asian mathematics introduced to the Korean Peninsula enrich our understanding of the arithmetic notions that mold the creative thought processes of the ancients. They believed that all objects in the universe could be composed of circles and squares and all items could be expressed in terms of geometrical profiles. Through the combination of circles and squares, the ancient East Asians expressed the order of the world and unraveled it mathematically. These principles are evident in the construction principles of early Korean stone pagodas. In particular, the square root of 2 (&radic, 2) is a very important number in the delineation represented in the consolidation of inscribed and circumscribed circles with squares. Further, the square root of 2 is applied as a design principle in the construction of the stone pagodas at the temples Chŏngnimsa and Kamŭnsa. This article demonstrates that the ancients on the continuous impact of the Jiuzhang Suanshu and the Zhoubi Suanshu constructed the pagodas complying with design principles based on the arithmetic and geometric proportional systems of &radic, 2 times, which are intended to adjust compositional proportions and the gradual decrease in length to shape the tripartite partition of the foundation, the pagoda body, and the finial in stone pagodas.

Abundant historic buildings still exist in Shanxi, of which architectures built in Song, Liao and Jin Dynasty are in the majority, especially the number and area of murals in this period ranking first in the nationwide, which embody the essence of Chinese traditional culture with great artistic value. The constant abundance and development of culture and art in ancient China are represented on murals of this period, and valuable materials have been provided for our understanding towards the painting technique of ancient murals in Shanxi, which is beneficial for our study on the historical origin of traditional architecture and mural art meanwhile. This paper focuses on the discussion and analysis comprehensively of 6 existing murals including murals of Shousheng Temple of Ruicehng, Shanxi, murals of the Great Hall of Mahavira in Kaihua Temple, Gaoping, murals of Sheli Tower in Jueshan Temple of Lingqiu, murals of Sakyamuni Pagoda in Fogong Temple of Ying County, murals of Amitabha Hall in Chongfu Temple of ShuoZhou and murals of Wenshu Hall in Yanshan Temple of Fanshi.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the layout of Early Chinese Buddhist Temples from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The results are as follows: 1) In the Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms Period, the layout of Temples was a pagoda-centered system which had one-courtyard. The layout of Temples in this period was still under the influence of Indian Temples. 2) In the Western and Eastern Jin Dynasties, the layout of Temples was still a pagoda-centered system. However, many buildings began to appear in Temples after the mid-4th century. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Twin pagodas started to appear in Temples. 3) In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were many layout types, but the main form was the layout of front Pagoda and rear Buddhist Hall. The layout of Temples in this period was in a transition stage, which evolved from a pagoda-centered Temple which had one-courtyard and after developed into a Buddhist Hall-centered Temple which had multi-courtyard.