Page 56 - JCAU-4-2

Tiangong Louge in Eastern Pure Land Illustrations You & Zhu

(A) One-courtyard type for image analysis in their cultural
What is basically manifested in this type is background.
that one hall body including foreground
Sanmen and the main part is accompanied by 4.1 Healing Master Sutra Illustration on
two teahouses that are connected through a the North Wall of Cave 148 in
corridor to form a closed courtyard. On this Dunhuang Mogao Caves (Figure 14 in
basis, it is possible to form certain sub-types the High Tang era)
by adding certain elements or changing the This sutra illustration is the first case of
morphology of elements, but not changing the “tiangong louge”that appears in the Eastern
characteristics of the one-rise closed Healing Master Pure Land illustration and
courtyard. also the only one in the High Tang era.
Take the Healing Master Sutra
illustration [Figure 12] on the north wall of
Cave 361 in Dunhuang Mogao Caves as an
example, the hall body of its main part has
changed to the tower, and bell towers,
scripture towers, corner towers, balconies and
rainbow bridges are added on the corridor, but
the characteristics of the one-rise courtyard
has not changed, so it belongs to this type.

(B) Two-rise courtyard type
What’s distinctive in this type is that one
closed courtyard is added to the back of the
front closed one-rise courtyard to form a type
of two-rise courtyard. It is also possible to add
certain elements on this basis or change the
morphology of elements, but not to change
the characteristics of two-rise courtyard, such Figure 14. Healing Master Sutra illustration on the east
as Cave 146 in Dunhuang Mogao Caves wall of Cave 148 in Mogao Caves, Dunhuang. Source:
Chinese Rock Cave: Dunhuang Mogao Caves Ⅳ by
[Figure 8]. Dunhuang Academy.

4. CASE ANALYSIS FOR
“TIANGONG LOUGE” IN This cave was chiseled in the 11th year
THE EASTERN PURE of the Dali period of the High Tang era (776)
LAND ILLUSTRATIONS and re-painted and restored in the mid-and
Individual elements of composition of and late-Tang dynasty and the Xixia dynasty. It is
basic grouping mode of tiangong louge in the a rare Nirvana cave with an arched roof. The
Eastern Pure Land illustrations have been Healing Master Sutra illustration is located on
analyzed in the above paragraphs. The the north side of the east wall, opposite to the
general method for generating and grouping Amitayurbhavana Sutra illustration on the
7
of these elements has its particular cultural south of the east wall.
background, and the logic of its own The Healing Master Sutra illustration
revolution does not even rule out some and tiangong louge in it emerged late, with
occasional elements. Therefore, several cases the only illustration in the early Tang dynasty
of “tiangong louge” in the Eastern Pure Land and one illustration in the High Tang era.
illustrations will be chosen and reconstructed There is no tiangong louge [Figure 2] in the

7 There are three Sutras for Pure Land, so there are three corresponding kinds of Pure Land illustrations painted according to them:
Amitayurbhavana Sutra, Amitabha Sutra and Sutra of Immeasurable Life illustrations.

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