Page 49 - JCAU-4-2

Tiangong Louge in Eastern Pure Land Illustrations You & Zhu

pyramidal hexagonal pointed roof
[Figures 4,5,7]. This phenomenon is not
occasional. The significance of pavilions
in the Eastern Pure Land illustration is
elaborated in the following paragraphs.

Figure 7. Cave 85 of Mogao Caves, Dunhuang (the
late Tang dynasty). Source: Research on buildings in
Dunhuang by Xiao Mo.

(2) Teahouse: In tiangong louge in the Fashi,
teahouses are the second highest-level
buildings after the“hall bodies,” which
can serve as the main part of the building
cluster, for example, the“teahouse” in
the rotating library in the Fashi. Its nine-
ridge roof with a single eave should be 3-
storied, and it is permissible to be
accompanied by wing rooms. The
designation “teahouse” ought to be Figure 8. Cave 146 of Mogao Caves, Dunhuang (the
earned by changing the name of Five Dynasties). Source: Research on buildings in
“tearoom.” “Tearoom” is used to handle Dunhuang by Xiao Mo.
external liaisons and normally a single-
storey building in Chinese Buddhism.
“Teahouses” totally loss their function of
reception in tiangong louge in the Fashi
and are placed opposite to one another on
the flanks of the hall body. Their forms
basically remained unchanged from the
High Tang era [Figure 3], the mid-Tang
dynasty [Figure 4], the late Tang dynasty
[Figure 7], the Five dynasties [Figure 8],
the Song dynasty [Figure 9] and the
Xixia dynasty [Figure 10].
(3) Corner tower: In tiangong louge in the
Fashi, “corner tower” consists of a base
tower (name of the ground floor),
balconies, floor structures, and a nine-
ridge roof with a single eave. Unlike
those in the Fashi, corner towers in the
Eastern Pure Land illustration are almost Figure 9. Healing Master Sutra illustration on the
all pavilion-shaped, with a round north wall of Cave 55 in Mogao Caves (the Song
dynasty). Source: Drawing by the author.
[Figures 4 and 8], octagonal, or

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