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ABSTRACT
This paper is based on the study of four late to middle to late Tang Dynasty (781–907 CE) and one Song Dynasty (907–1279 CE) Buddhist sites which are set within a kilometre of one another to the south of the ancient centre of Rongxian (荣县), Zigong, Sichuan. The question addressed is whether these five religious sites could have existed as distinct entities, or if over time they became part of a unified whole. Traditionally such sites are considered as independent works of art divorced from their landscape and social context. Since the connections demonstrated in this paper indicate a unity of purpose we suggest that a more holistic approach to the study of such monuments is worthwhile. This paper proposes that although these sites were originally distinct entities during the Tang, they came to be connected by a pilgrimage route defined by the construction of a pagoda in the Song Dynasty.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Professor Yu Chun of Northwest University and those involved with the四川散见唐宋佛道龛窟内容总录 project. This paper was made possible by the support of the Rongxian Archaeological research office.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. The latter being a 36 m tall Big Buddha rock carved into the mountain; it is not freestanding, but is the second tallest historical Buddha in the world.
2. Since the focus here is on pilgrimage as a local phenomenon we have not included a discussion on the various monks who did undertake this journey (‘’ Van Schaik and Galambos [Citation2012]).
3. 山 Shan means mountain in Chinese.
4. In deference to the non-specialist nature of this journal we have chosen to describe objects as to the left and right from the perspective of the observer, rather than from the perspective of the Buddha as is the normal practice in Chinese Buddhist archaeology.
5. Niches carved into the outer niches of larger niches.
6. Unfortunately any trace of this temple was destroyed by the construction of a factory here in the Mao Era (1949–1976 CE). It was then concreted over in 2016 which will certainly hamper any future attempts at archaeological excavation or reconstruction.
7. Paddy fields or alder forests with perhaps pockets of indigenous forest (‘’ Elvin Citation2004, 64).
8. The mountains upon which these sites are set are currently wooded. Images of the Buddha taken from the city in 1908 show the hill side was denuded of trees at that time (‘’ Sprague Citation1911).
9. Shizong issued an edict in 955 that ownership of a statue weighing more than 2.5 kg was punishable by death (Ch’en Citation1964).
10. The implication here is that the lower classes of the laity invested in other forms of devotion.
11. See Beishan Fowan site Cave 245, following (Hu Citation2008).
12. As though seated on a chair.
13. These are pillars set on stepped bases with a lotus bulb shaped top.
14. This can refer to both the path and the practice (Dowman Citation1997).
15. Based on observation during fieldwork; see also Naquin and Yu (Citation1992, 18) and Thackett (Citation2014, 15).
16. A Song Dynasty pagoda was recorded in this location but was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution.
17. The pagoda, more likely stupa, at Yungang is no longer extant but has been excavated.
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Notes on contributors
Francesca Monteith
Francesca Monteith is a Ph.D candidate in the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University specializing in the landscape archaeology of religious sites in China.
Andrew Harris
Andrew Harris is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto specializing in the spatial archaeology of Buddhist monastic sites in Cambodia and China.