The 1502 Tangut Dhāraṇī Pillars Revisited
An Alternative Perspective on the Local History of Post-Jin Northern China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21877893 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zhouyang Ma (0000-0002-8223-7049, Austrian Academy of Sciences, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-30 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-18 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Chinese History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-1632 • E-ISSN: 2059-1640 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/jch.2025.10042 |
| OpenAlex | W4416306195 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Erected in 1502, the two Tangut dhāraṇī pillars in Baoding, Hebei, are the latest datable Tangut materials known to history. Scholars have generally focused almost exclusively on their recency, however, overlooking the historical contexts of their erection. Meanwhile, historians have long sought to understand the patterns of local societies in northern China following the fall of the Northern Song, yet the histories of minor ethnic groups, like the Tanguts, remain underexplored. By contextualizing the pillars within their historical setting, this study seeks to improve understanding of the material and offer a new perspective on the local history of post-Jin northern China. The article has three main parts, concerning 1) the historical information the pillars’ inscriptions provide; 2) the religious practice of the Tangut community and its historical origin; and 3) the varied social status of the pillars’ patrons and the power dynamics they reflect
China · Comparative historical research · Ethnic group · History of China · Local History · Chinese history and philosophy · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · Eurasian Exchange Networks
| Highly cited | No |
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