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Tiangong Louge in Eastern Pure Land Illustrations You & Zhu

Figure 10. Healing Master Sutra illustration of Cave 400 in Mogao Caves (the XiXia dynasty). Source: Drawing
by the author.

(4) Corridor: In tiangong louge in the Fashi, colonnades, the height of the bottom-
corridors serve as a link between hall overhead portion is greatly reduced
bodies, teahouses, and corner towers. As [Figure 7]. There are also illustrations
we know, buildings in the Qin (221‒206 where colonnades were enclosed, such as
BCE) and Han (206 BCE – 220 CE) Healing Master Sutra illustration in Cave
dynasties were not free of high platforms, 360 in the Mogao Caves. This is roughly
and palace halls were mostly two-stories identical to the corridors in the drawings
5
with bottom-overhead design , so that of the Fashi.
buildings were jointed through a bottom- (5) Wing rooms: A wing room, also known
overhead colonnade [11] . The Tang as a wing hall, is a single-story, half-
dynasty was a transitional period when sized and small building originally
corridor gradually replaced colonnades. attached to the hall. But in tianggong
Generally speaking, in the Western Pure louge in the Fashi, it is attached to the
Land illustration from the early Tang main hall body, in addition to being
dynasty to the High Tang era, it is attached to teahouses and corner towers,
possible to see loft railing architecture and having multiple stories. In the
and colonnades used in connection, such Eastern Pure land illustration, there are
as the Amitayurbhavana Sutra only wing rooms at the Shanmen (hill
illustration in Cave 217 of the early Tang gate) [Figure 8] or the rear side [Figure
dynasty and Cave 172 of the High Tang 7]. Shanmen (hill gate) used to be known
era in Dunhuang Mogao Caves. as “Sanmen”in the past.
Tiangong louge in the Eastern Pure Land (6) Rainbow bridge: An arch bridge used for
mostly dates back to as late as the mid- connection, earned its name for looking
Tang dynasty and onwards, and it is like a rainbow. In the Healing Master
possible to see that corridors had Sutra illustration, rainbow bridges are
basically replaced colonnades, for used in connection between landscape
example, Cave 85 of the late Tang buildings. For example, in the Healing
dynasty in Dunhuang Mogao Caves. Master Sutra illustration on the north
Despite maintaining the relic of wall of Cave 361 in Dunhuang Mogao

5 Such as E'pang palace, “can accommodate ten thousand people on the upper floor and can build a five-zhang (a unit of height, 2.3 m) flag
on the lower floor.” See the Annals of Qin Shihuang of the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian.

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