Foguangsi on Mount Wutai: Architecture of Politics and Religion Sijie Ren University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 1-1-2016 Foguangsi on Mount Wutai: Architecture of Politics and Religion Sijie Ren University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian Studies Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, History of Religion Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Ren, Sijie, "Foguangsi on Mount Wutai: Architecture of Politics and Religion" (2016). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1967. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1967 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1967 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Foguangsi on Mount Wutai: Architecture of Politics and Religion Abstract Foguangsi (Monastery of Buddha’s Radiance) is a monastic complex that stands on a high terrace on a mountainside, in the southern ranges of Mount Wutai, located in present-day Shanxi province. The mountain range of Wutai has long been regarded as the sacred abode of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and a prominent center of the Avataṃsaka School. Among the monasteries that have dotted its landscape, Foguangsi is arguably one of the best-known sites that were frequented by pilgrims. The er discovery of Foguangsi by modern scholars in the early 20th century has been considered a “crowning moment in the modern search for China’s ancient architecture”. Most notably, the Buddha Hall, which was erected in the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), was seen as the ideal of a “vigorous style” of its time, and an embodiment of an architectural achievement at the peak of Chinese civilization. However, after several initial reports, scholarship on the structure has for the most part been confined to introductory writings intended for a general audience, and an thorough re- examination of Foguangsi is long overdue. Through the methodology of a case study, my thesis seeks to understand not only its art and architecture, but also the social and religious context in which the art and architecture was produced. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group East Asian Languages & Civilizations First Advisor Nancy S. Steinhardt Keywords Foguangsi, Monastery, Mount Wutai, Tang dynasty Subject Categories Asian Studies | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | History of Religion | Religion This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1967 FOGUANGSI ON MOUNT WUTAI: ARCHITECTURE OF POLITICS AND RELIGION COPYRIGHT 2016 Sijie Ren This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ To my parents. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Prof. Nancy S. Steinhardt, for her never-ending support, patience, and direction. In addition, this thesis could not have been written without the advice and guidance so generously provided by my committee members, Prof. Paul R. Goldin and Prof. Victor H. Mair. I am also indebted to other faulty mentors at the University of Pennsylvania, including Prof. Justin T. McDaniel, Prof. Michael W. Meister, Prof. Nathen Sivin, Prof. Lothar Haselberger and Prof. David Leatherbarrow. Their instructions throughout my graduate career played a strong role in shaping this project. I would also like to thank those who originally inspired me to enter the field of traditional East Asian architectural history. I will always be thankful for my former advisors at the Tianjin University, Prof. Ding Yao, Prof. Wu Cong, Prof. Cao Peng and Prof. Wang Qiheng. Many scholars have generously taken time to discuss topics of common interest, whose knowledge and insights have benefited this study. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Chen Wei, Prof. Chen Tao, Prof. Zhang Shiqing, Prof. Zhuge Jing, Prof. Zhao Chen, Prof. Chang Qing, Prof. Xu Yitao, Prof. Ho Puay-peng, Mr. Wang Jun, Mr. Marcus Brandt, Prof. Tracy Miller, Prof. Lin Wei-cheng, Prof. Lai Delin, Prof. Norman Girardot, Prof. Nakagawa Takeshi, Prof. Koiwa Masaki, Prof. Shimizu Shigeatsu, and Prof. Fujii Keisuke. In addition to those, I would like to thank my fellow researchers Li Jingyang, Sun Lina, Geng Yun, Liu Xiangyu, Zhang Sirui, Gu Xinyi, and Wang Yizhen, Chen Xiao, Zhang Yu, Wen Jing, Xu Zhu, Yang Xu, Shu Lin, Liu Yan, Luo Wei, Zhu Ruolin, Chen iv Huaiyu, Guo Xiao, Wu Jiongjiong and Li Yuan. I would also like to thank my EALC colleagues who have enriched my years of research, including Zuo Lala, Zhang Jianwei, Morita Miki, Zhao Lu, Matt Anderson, Sophie Wei, Alexandra Harrer, Eiren Shea, Rebecca Fu, Sarah Basham, Cathelijne Nuijsink, Tim Clifford, Gabrielle Niu, Kelsey Seymour, Nova Hegesh, May Wang, Robert Glasgow, Sŏl Jung, Wendy Fuglestad, Daniel Sou, Madeleine Wilcox, Aurelia Campbell, Sarah Laursen, Jeff Rice, Mandy Chan, Wang Yuanfei, Nathan Hopson, Ori Tavor, and Wang Jiajia. Other people have greatly assisted me include Linda Greene, Peggy Guinan, and Diane Moderski at the department administration office, as well as our resourceful librarians Brian Vivier and Pushkar Sohoni, to whom I extend my gratitude. Special thanks are due to my friends Li Diandian, Yang Haotian, Susanne Kerekes, and Rashon Clark for their help and encouragement. I am also grateful for the friendship of Lauren Ballester, Penelope Jennewein, Emma Johnson, Russell Trimmer, Aisling Zhao, Laura MacKinnon, Eileen Divringi, Sara Allan, Andrew Ciampa, Michael Josephs, Chloe Sigal, Tiff Lv, Lauren Shapiro, Sarah Burns, Kenna O’Rourke, Alex Riasanovsky, Sade Oba, Alfredo Muniz, Virginia Seymour, and Ryan Leitner at Penn Haven. Finally, I offer my deepest gratitude to my parents, to whom this dissertation is dedicated. Without their constant love and support, this dissertation would never have been finished. v ABSTRACT FOGUANGSI ON MOUNT WUTAI: ARCHITECTURE OF POLITICS AND RELIGION Sijie Ren Nancy S. Steinhardt Foguangsi (Monastery of Buddha’s Radiance) is a monastic complex that stands on a high terrace on a mountainside, in the southern ranges of Mount Wutai, located in present-day Shanxi province. The mountain range of Wutai has long been regarded as the sacred abode of the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and a prominent center of the Avataṃsaka School. Among the monasteries that have dotted its landscape, Foguangsi is arguably one of the best-known sites that were frequented by pilgrims. The rediscovery of Foguangsi by modern scholars in the early 20th century has been considered a “crowning moment in the modern search for China’s ancient architecture”. Most notably, the Buddha Hall, which was erected in the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), was seen as the ideal of a “vigorous style” of its time, and an embodiment of an architectural achievement at the peak of Chinese civilization. However, after several initial reports, scholarship on the structure has for the most part been confined to introductory writings intended for a general audience, and an thorough re-examination of Foguangsi is long overdue. Through the methodology of a case study, my thesis seeks to understand not only its art and architecture, but also the social and religious context in which the art and architecture was produced. vi CONTENTS Acknowledgement .................................... .................. ............................................ iv Abstract .................................... .................. ............................................................. vi Notes on Conventions .................................... .................. ....................................... viii Introduction .................................... .................. ..................................................... 1 Part I: History and Politics of Foguangsi under the Tang ................................... 45 Chapter 1 Establishment and Early Histories ..................................................... 46 Chapter 2 A Network of Monastery and Patronage ............................................ 98 Concluding Notes ................................................................................................. 175 Part II: Art and Architecture of Foguangsi from the Tang ................................. 181 Chapter 3 Landscaping the Mountain Monastic Tradition ................................. 182 Chapter 4 Between Caves and Palaces: The Chinese Transformation of Buddhist Space ................................ 212 Concluding Notes ................................................................................................. 291 Epilogue .............................................................................. .................................... 299 Appendix A: The Making of Mañjuśrī’s Mount Wutai ........................................... 335 Appendix B: The Building Standards and Foguangsi ............................................. 361 Appendix C: List of Tables and Charts .................................................................... 376 Appendix D: List of Maps and Figures .................................................................... 377 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 439 Index ......................................................................................................................... 494 vii NOTES ON CONVENTIONS