Vision and Site

Revisiting a Pure Land Cave of Dunhuang

Bibliographic Data

ID5070690
AuthorsZhenru Zhou (0000-0002-9294-3465, Tsinghua University), Luke Li (Tsinghua University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue3
Pages329
Publication date2024-03-08
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel15030329
OpenAlexW4392674561
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited5

Buddhist Utopian vision shaped the art of Pure Land; so did many other factors, including the actual locale. Taking Mogao Cave 172 as the main case study, this article deciphers a visual paradigm of a Pure Land painting and cave in Dunhuang (Gansu, China) from the high Tang period (710-780 CE). By analyzing the visual contents and compositions, the painting medium, the cave spaces, and the cliff site, this study investigates the ways in which the architectural images and spaces in Cave 172 helped to convey the invitation to Pure Land. A close reading of the Western Pure Land painting in Cave 172 reveals the spatial construct of the Buddhist paradise that encouraged a transformative viewing experience. A situated visual analysis of Cave 172 with its auxiliary cave and neighboring caves illustrates the historical procedure in which Pure Land imageries were further integrated with the architectural spaces of caves and cave suites. As this study demonstrates, strategies of spatial layering, self-symmetry and scaling, and plastic and multimedia practices of cave-making enhanced the situatedness of the utopian vision

Archaeology · Art · Art history · Buddhism · Cave · Cave painting · Geography · Painting · Paradise · Pure land · Visual arts · Architecture and Art History Studies · Historical and Architectural Studies · Geology

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